complain

verb

kəm-ˈplān How to pronounce complain (audio)
Definition of complainnext
as in to scream
to express dissatisfaction, pain, or resentment usually tiresomely the time-honored tradition of new recruits complaining about the food in the mess hall

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of complain The meta levels here (Seyfried playing Holmes complaining about Seyfried’s portrayal of her) may kill me. — Emma Specter, Vogue, 17 Oct. 2026 Many of those customers have taken to social media to complain that the wait has been too long. — Los Angeles Times, 17 Oct. 2026 This contract then frees me, within the pages of the notebook, to do anything—to write or draw, or paint, to whine and complain, to plot and scheme—to fail or succeed without fear. — Literary Hub, 16 Oct. 2026 Water across a walkway might be coming from a leak residents have complained about before, or someone could have spilled something only a few minutes earlier. — Emma Clapp, Miami Herald, 16 Oct. 2026 See All Example Sentences for complain
Recent Examples of Synonyms for complain
  1. scream
  2. whine
  3. moan
  4. grumble
  5. mutter
  6. worry
Verb
  • Bizarrely, Jones wasn't happy about it, immediately shoving Cullen's hand off him and starting a screaming match.
    — Ian Miller OutKick, FOXNews.com, 19 Oct. 2026
  • In Whalefall, Abrams screams and thrashes with the same vulnerability, and a few more inner demons.
    — Brenna Ehrlich, Rolling Stone, 18 Oct. 2026
Definition of scream
Verb
  • This contract then frees me, within the pages of the notebook, to do anything—to write or draw, or paint, to whine and complain, to plot and scheme—to fail or succeed without fear.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 16 Oct. 2026
  • While the left spent all week whining about Sophie Cunningham's hat and firing squad best practices, us PATRIOTS were biding our time, keeping our heads down, and grinding towards another weekend.
    — Zach Dean OutKick, FOXNews.com, 9 Oct. 2026
Definition of whine
Verb
  • It's been a big few months for Austin Abrams moaning and groaning his way through some of the worst situations imaginable.
    — Megan McCluskey, Time, 16 Oct. 2026
  • For a cold moment the silence locked a grip on our table, though it was broken, at the edges, by the golf commentators moaning and harrumphing, Rory McIlroy having had a canary on a seventeenth fairway somewhere this championship Sunday.
    — Kevin Barry, New Yorker, 11 Oct. 2026
Definition of moan
Verb
  • Voters are not going to make legislators do a better job by grumbling and complaining.
    — Scott Warren, Washington Post, 9 Oct. 2026
  • Know More Waters is one of a number of senior members of Congress that fellow Democrats are grumbling about in private for being delinquent on their dues to the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.
    — Nicholas Wu, semafor.com, 1 Oct. 2026
Definition of grumble
Verb
  • The camera then cut to McCarthy, who muttered a profanity in response.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 6 Oct. 2026
  • Max Muncy, whose home run expanded the Dodgers’ lead, was still muttering about the heat nearly 15 minutes after escaping into air conditioning.
    — Fabian Ardaya, New York Times, 4 Oct. 2026
Definition of mutter
Verb
  • More than half of people using AI at work worried that using it on important tasks would create exactly that impression.
    — Christoph Trattner, Fortune, 14 Oct. 2026
  • Opponents worry that the changes would mean less money getting invested in rural housing, precisely when housing affordability issues are hitting those areas the hardest.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 13 Oct. 2026
Definition of worry

Browse Nearby Words

complacent
complain
complainant
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Complain.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/complain. Accessed 21 Oct. 2026.

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