adjective · rare

plaintive

plaintive · more plaintive · most plaintive

жалібний

горестный

traurig, Klage-, klagend, wehleidig

Sounding sorrowful, mournful or melancholicSounding sorrowful, mournful or melancholic.

ⓘ

/ˈpleɪntɪv/

» The plaintive melody broke her heart.

Meaning

1 senses

Sounding sorrowful, mournful or melancholic.
a typically plaintive song from Radiohead
I can see by your plaintive smile something is wrong, so spill it.
traurig, wehleidig, klagend
го́рестныйgórestnyj
жалібнийžalibnyj

More definitions

expressing sorrow

Examples

7 sentences

The plaintive melody broke her heart.
CC BY · Tatoeba · AlanF_US · C2Open on Tatoeba Report a problem
The cat let out a plaintive meow.
CC0 · Tatoeba · shekitten · C2Open on Tatoeba Report a problem
He accompanies his songs with plaintive chords played on a poor-quality zither.
deEr begleitet seine Lieder mit traurigen Akkorden auf einer schlechten Zither.
CC BY · Tatoeba · sundown · C2Open on Tatoeba Report a problem
That's a very plaintive meow.
CC0 · Tatoeba · shekitten · C2Open on Tatoeba Report a problem
I know that you will hear my bitter song, this moan of a plaintive heart.
CC BY · Tatoeba · carlosalberto · C2Open on Tatoeba Report a problem

Translations

5 languages

Українська

By meaning 1

Sorrowful, mournful or melancholic:

Русский

By meaning 1

Sorrowful, mournful or melancholic:

Deutsch

By meaning 1

Sorrowful, mournful or melancholic:

Origin

From Middle English pleintif, plentyff, from Old French pleintif (“aggrieved, lamenting”)

From Middle English pleintif, plentyff, from Old French pleintif (“aggrieved, lamenting”) (whence modern French plaintif), from plainte (“lament, complaint”); see plaint. Doublet of plaintiff.

Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · source