bleatings

Meanings

1. 1nounplural

   The thin, shaking cries made by sheep, goats or calves, heard as separate calls.

   Grammar: Plural of bleating; the singular is more common for the sound in general.

   Patterns

   • the bleatings of something

   We woke to the bleatings of lambs in the field behind the farmhouse.

   The bleatings of the goats grew louder as feeding time came near.

   Far off, the faint bleatings of a lost calf drifted down the hill.

2. 2nounpluraldisapprovingfigurative

   Weak, whining complaints or protests from a person, which the listener finds annoying or unimportant.

   Grammar: Always figurative in this sense, and usually critical of the speaker.

   Patterns

   • the bleatings of someone

   I have had enough of his bleatings about the cost of coffee.

   The manager ignored the bleatings of staff who wanted longer breaks.

   Her bleatings about the weather started again at lunch.

Word forms

Common combinations

the bleatings of sheep

The bleatings of sheep echoed across the valley.

constant bleatings

The constant bleatings from the pen kept us awake.

ignore the bleatings

The mayor chose to ignore the bleatings of critics.

pathetic bleatings

His pathetic bleatings did not win any sympathy.

Synonyms and how they differ

cries

Cries is a general word for animal or human calls and does not suggest weakness.

whining

Whining describes the complaining tone without referring to animal sounds.

grumbling

Grumbling suggests low, continuous discontent rather than a thin, high sound.

moaning

Moaning is informal complaining and sounds heavier than bleatings.

Word family

bleat verb

to make the cry of a sheep or to complain weakly

bleating noun

the sound or the complaining

bleater noun

a person who complains in a whining way

Commonly confused: bleatings or bellowing?

Practice

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “bleatings”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

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