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wail definition

wail (wāl)

intransitive verb

  1. to express grief or pain by long, loud cries
  2. to make a plaintive, sad, crying sound the wind wailing in the trees
  3. Jazz, Slang to play in an intense or inspired manner

Etymology: ME wailen < ON væla, to lament < væ, woe

transitive verb

  1. to lament; mourn to wail someone's death
  2. to cry out in mourning or lamentation

noun

  1. a long, pitiful cry of grief and pain
  2. a sound like this
  3. the act of wailing

Related Forms:

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2009 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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