Synonyms & related words for plaintive

Find synonyms, related words, and the definition of plaintive — including mournful, doleful, wailful, sorrowful, plangent, dolorous. Dendril is a free visual thesaurus that shows them on an interactive map where stronger matches sit closer to the center — no signup, no ads.

Words related to plaintive

Explore words related to plaintive — words associated with it, words that go with it, and its nearest matches in meaning. Related words include plaintiveness, plaintively, doloroso, lamentation, wistful, mournfully, dolorousness, elegiac. Click any word to make it the center of the map and keep exploring the web of connections.

Synonyms for plaintive

Common synonyms for plaintive include mournful, doleful, wailful, sorrowful, plangent, dolorous, lugubrious, wailing — words that share a close meaning. Hover or tap any word on the map for its definition and part of speech.

Where does plaintive come from?

The word plaintive breaks down into one root of Latin origin: the root plaint-, from Latin plangere (“lament, beat breast”). Explore each root to see other English words built from the same source.