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# plaintive

adjective (plaintive; more plaintive, most plaintive)

«plaintive» in the English dictionary: everyday — its meanings, how the lessons use it, and examples, each with its tree on Mova.

## Everyday

1. Sounding sad, like someone complaining or crying softly: «a plaintive cry». [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/plaintive/#m1)
2. Sad and gentle, asking for pity. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/plaintive/#m2)

### In the lessons

In stories this word describes sad sounds: a plaintive cry of a lost kitten, a plaintive song, a plaintive voice. In The Wind in the Willows the Mole's plaintive cry when he smells his old home makes the Rat turn back.

### Examples

- The lost kitten gave a plaintive mew. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/plaintive/#x1)
- We heard the plaintive cry of a seagull. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/plaintive/#x2)
- «Ratty, please come back!» came the Mole's plaintive call. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/plaintive/#x3)
- She sang a plaintive song about home. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/plaintive/#x4)
- The dog gave a plaintive whine at the door. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/plaintive/#x5)
- His plaintive voice made us feel sorry for him. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/plaintive/#x6)
- Wendy was now almost overhead, and they could hear her plaintive cry. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/plaintive/#x7)

### Note

Pronounced PLAIN-tiv. Related to «complain». Not the same as «plaintiff» (in law, the person who brings a case to court).

## On Mova

- [Trees and pragmatics of «plaintive» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/plaintive/): every meaning and example parsed by Mova, with its dependency tree and frames.
- [«plaintive» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/plaintive.html) on Mova free.