Meaning & use
plaintive
Sounding sad or mournful, especially in a way that expresses longing.
See it in a sentence
A plaintive melody drifted from the violin as the film's hero said goodbye.
The dog gave a plaintive whine, begging to be let back inside.
A note on using this word
Plaintive is a literary word most often applied to sounds, such as music, cries, or voices, rather than to facial expressions.
Words with a similar meaning
mournfulsorrowful
Choose a synonym to suit the sentence. Meanings can overlap without being identical.
Words with an opposite meaning
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