The Meaning of Lament: What It Is and How To Use It

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Lament is our word of the day! Today, you will learn all about the verb lament. This article will begin with the definition of the word lament. Then, you will learn how to use lament in a sentence. Finally, we will cover related topics to the word lament. 

We hope you don’t lament while reading this article!

What Does Lament Mean?

According to Dictionary, lament means to express grief or sorrow. If you lament something, you mourn it. The noun form of lament (lamentation) means something that is an expression of grief or sorrow. The pronunciation of lament is ləˈment.

How Can We Use Lament in a Sentence?

Lament is a fairly common word that you might hear in everyday language. However, the true test of knowing a word is being able to use it in a sentence. 

Below, you will find several sentences containing the word lament. After you read over these sentences, try creating your own example sentences that contain the word lament.

Example #1: Lamenting About College

When the senior learned that he did not gain acceptance to New York University, he lamented a college experience that could have been: Saturday mornings in Central Park, Friday nights on the Upper East Side, all dashed in an instant.

Question: What is the subject of the above sentence lamenting?

Answer: The subject is lamenting a college experience that could have been.

Example #2: Lamenting a Broken Phone

The woman lamented her phone that fell through the cracks and down to the bottom of the elevator shaft. 

Question: What is the subject of the above sentence lamenting?

Answer: The subject is lamenting a broken phone.

Example #3: Lamenting a Lost Relationship

The young man sobbed for weeks lamenting that his first love had broken up with him.

Question: What is the subject of the above sentence lamenting?

Answer: The subject is lamenting his first relationship.

What Is the Etymology of Lament?

The word lament entered Middle English in the early to mid 1500s, between the years 1520 and 1530. The word lament comes from the French lamenter and the Latin lāmentārī, mentum, and lamentum.

What Are Translations of Lament?

People all around can lament things. If you want to learn how to say the word lament in other languages besides English, you can reference this list of translations of the word lament from Nice Translator

In this list, you may notice that several translations of the word lament look similar to the word lament. When two words in different languages look and sound similar, these are called cognates — like lament in English and lamentar in Spanish. 

Be wary of false cognates, which are words that look and sound alike in different languages but do not have the same meaning.

  • German: Klage
  • Amharic: ማስታገሻ
  • Croatian: jadikovati
  • Portuguese (Portugal): lamento
  • Marathi: विलाप
  • French: complainte
  • Slovenian: žaliti
  • Dutch: treuren
  • Kannada: ಹಾಳಾದ
  • Gujarati: વિલાપ
  • Polish: lament
  • Swedish: beklaga
  • Urdu: نوحہ
  • Korean: 비탄
  • Turkish: ağıt
  • Hungarian: panaszkodik
  • Catalan: lament
  • Japanese: 嘆く
  • Danish: klagesang
  • Basque: hustu
  • Malayalam: വിലമം
  • Slovak: nárek
  • Hindi: विलाप
  • Bengali: বিলাপ
  • Finnish: valittaa
  • Vietnamese: than thở
  • Greek: θρήνος
  • Telugu: విలాపం
  • Lithuanian: liūdesys
  • Malay: Ratapan
  • Ukrainian: плакати
  • Icelandic: harma
  • Tamil: புலம்பல்
  • Chinese (Taiwan): 哀嘆
  • Estonian: kurnama
  • Czech: nářek
  • Chinese (PRC): 哀叹
  • Indonesian: meratapi
  • Swahili: Kuomboleza
  • Russian: плачет
  • Arabic: رثاء
  • Thai: คร่ำครวญ
  • Romanian: plânge
  • Serbian: жалити
  • Latvian: žēloties
  • Hebrew: קִינָה
  • Bulgarian: оплакване
  • Portuguese (Brazil): lamento
  • Spanish: lamento, lamenta, lamentar
  • Norwegian: Klage
  • Italian: lamento
  • Filipino: pagdadalamhati
  • Welsh: galarnadwyf

What Are Synonyms of Lament?

Power Thesaurus has numerous word lists related to the word lament. Below, you will find a list of synonyms for lament, which are words that have the same meaning as lament. 

Like the word lament, many of these words have a negative connotation because they are about expressing grief and sorrow. However, you can utilize synonyms of the word lament if you feel you have overused it in speech or writing and decide you want to change up your vocabulary. 

  • ache
  • bawl
  • be sad
  • be sorry
  • bemoan
  • bewail
  • bewailed
  • bewailing
  • blubber
  • complain
  • complaint
  • coronach
  • cry
  • cry over
  • crying
  • deplore
  • deplored
  • deploring
  • dirge
  • elegy
  • grieve
  • grieve for
  • grieve over
  • grieved
  • grieving
  • groan
  • grumble
  • howl
  • keen
  • keening
  • lamentation
  • miss
  • moan
  • moaning
  • monody
  • mope
  • mourn
  • mourning
  • pine
  • plaint
  • regret
  • regrets
  • regretted
  • regretting
  • repent
  • repine
  • requiem
  • rue
  • shed tears
  • sigh
  • snivel
  • sob
  • sobbing
  • sorrow
  • threnody
  • wail
  • wailing
  • weep
  • weep over
  • weeping
  • whimper
  • whine

What Are Antonyms of Lament?

Power Thesaurus also provides a list of antonyms of lament. If you are doing the opposite of lamenting something, you are celebrating it or are happy about it. In opposition to words like lament, several of the below terms have a positive connotation. 

  • acclaim
  • approval
  • be as pleased as punch
  • be beside oneself with joy
  • be cock-a-hoop
  • be delighted
  • be ecstatic
  • be elated
  • be euphoric
  • be full of the joys of spring
  • be glad
  • be happy
  • be in raptures
  • be in seventh heaven
  • be joyful
  • be jubilant
  • be on cloud nine
  • be overjoyed
  • be pleased
  • be rapturous
  • be thrilled
  • calm
  • celebrate
  • celebration
  • cheering
  • commemoration
  • commendation
  • compliment
  • consolation
  • contentment
  • crow
  • dedication
  • elation
  • elevate
  • encomium
  • endorsement
  • enjoyment
  • enliven
  • eulogy
  • exalt
  • exaltation
  • exhilarate
  • exult
  • exultation
  • feast
  • festival
  • festivities
  • festivity
  • giggle
  • glory
  • happiness
  • have fun
  • hopefulness
  • joy
  • jump for joy
  • laugh
  • praise
  • rejoice
  • triumph

Conclusion

The definition of lament (ləˈmɛnt) is to mourn something or to feel and express sorrow for something. The word lament is a verb, and the noun form of the word lament is lamentation. 

Have you ever lamented something before? What did you lament?

Sources:

Lament synonyms – 1 612 Words and Phrases for Lament | Power Thesaurus 

Lament antonyms – 556 Opposites of Lament | Power Thesaurus 

Lament Definition & Meaning | Dictionary.com 

Lament | Nice Translator