plaintive

[pleyn-tiv]

adjective

1. expressing sorrow or melancholy; mournful.

   a plaintive melody.

   Synonyms: sad, sorrowful, wistful
   Antonyms: joyful, happy

plaintive

/ ˈpleɪntɪv /

adjective

1. expressing melancholy; mournful

Other Word Forms

• plaintiveness noun
• plaintively adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of plaintive¹

First recorded in 1350–1400; plaint + -ive; replacing Middle English plaintif, from Middle French

Word History and Origins

Origin of plaintive¹

C14: from Old French plaintif grieving, from plainte _plaint

Example Sentences

This pageant of puppetry includes a flutter of butterflies, a goat with a plaintive bleat, a menagerie of wild animals and, at one point, a school of glowing fish.

From Los Angeles Times

The English horn issued a plaintive, simple melody, as if trying to evoke older memories of a nearly forgotten time.

From Los Angeles Times

Even though the film was shot in France, not Mexico, it has some authentic touches: The movie opens with the plaintive, recorded appeals of a young girl soliciting old appliances and other scrap metal.

From Los Angeles Times

The resulting lush and exotic soundscape, featuring plaintive pan flute and sprinkled with birdsong, turned out to be perfect for the game’s spooktastic forest levels.

From New York Times

As Rangers people run around with their hair on fire, those words appear more plaintive than ever.

From BBC

Related Words

• grief-stricken 
• heartrending 
• melancholy 
• mournful 
• sad 
• sorrowful 
• wistful