GROAN Synonyms: 74 Similar and Opposite Words

groan 1 of 2

noun

Definition of groan

as in wail

a crying out in grief when the underdogs lost the playoffs, the groans of millions of disappointed fans were heard throughout the land

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in moan

a long low sound indicating pain or grief let out a groan when he tried to stand on the sprained ankle

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

groan

2 of 2

verb

ˈgrōn

as in to moan

to utter a moan heard someone groaning in pain

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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 groan

Noun

This reality might produce some groans among the kiddos in your lives, but parents can revel in the fact that BTS sales abound. — Melissa Knific, Bon Appetit Magazine, 5 Aug. 2026 The moment was met with several groans from the audience in the room. — Molly Parks, The Washington Examiner, 25 July 2026

Verb

One student groaned at the pitch; another shouted out the name OnlyMarms. — Moná Thomas, PEOPLE, 6 Aug. 2026 But the groaning synthesizer underneath her bashful smile tells you something is off — a crystalline tone now distended, unnerving. — Los Angeles Times, 21 July 2026 See All Example Sentences for groan

Recent Examples of Synonyms for groan

Noun

The siren let out a deafening wail, and eight jumpers sprinted to nearby racks of gear.

— M. R. O’Connor, New Yorker, 31 Aug. 2026
Perhaps whale songs — wail songs — are never truly lost if they were once truly heard.

— Caroline Cherston, STAT, 25 Aug. 2026

Definition of wail

Noun

Wails and moans of grief interspersed the chanting, until the small coffin was lowered into the grave.

— Victoria Davies, Rolling Stone, 31 Aug. 2026
In the decades after his death, Johnson’s loose playing and harrowing moans set American music on a path that would encompass Chuck Berry, Bob Dylan, even Nas.

— Steven Johnson, Washington Post, 14 July 2026

Definition of moan

Noun

And one of the most common causes is a problem with the meibomian glands, the oil glands in the eyelids that keep tears from drying up too fast.

— Maria Godoy, NPR, 4 Sep. 2026
Game 99 at Gold Coast provided a good rehearsal for Arrow’s big night in Sydney, but brought humour through the tears.

— Michael Bailey, New York Times, 4 Sep. 2026

Definition of tears

Noun

The crying can become the dominant thing, and the acting is the crying as opposed to being able to convey a personality underneath all of that, being able to find the nuance of who this character is outside of the crying.

— Brande Victorian, HollywoodReporter, 15 Aug. 2026
Another video shows a man holding the crying infant, with his arms covered in blood and the lower half of his body still trapped in rubble.

— Duarte Dias, CBS News, 12 Aug. 2026

Definition of crying

Noun

Ḥusayn’s death became for the Shiʿah a symbol of selfless resistance against worldly injustice and tyranny and is commemorated with lamentation each year on Ashura.

— Encyclopedia Britannica, Encyclopedia Britannica, 13 July 2026
Moments of humor sit alongside lamentation and ritual intensity, underscoring the exhibition’s refusal of a single, fixed reading.

— George Nelson, ARTnews.com, 20 Apr. 2026

Definition of lamentation

Noun

That ambiguity is echoed in Banks’ score, which takes on the tone of a lament and a celebration, frustration and hope, struggle and liberation, the quest for transcendence in the face of the challenges posed by daunting inequities.

— George Varga, San Diego Union-Tribune, 23 Aug. 2026
The other main track of Diamanda’s career is her interpretations of old standards, Gospel songs, laments, and folk tunes.

— Matt Thompson, SPIN, 21 Aug. 2026

Definition of lament

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grizzling

groan

groaned

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Style

“Groan.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/groan. Accessed 5 Sep. 2026.

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Synonyms of groan

noun

verb

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