MOANING Synonyms: 202 Similar and Opposite Words

moaning 1 of 2

adjective

as in crying

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Dissimilar Words

moaning

2 of 2

verb

present participle of moan

as in groaning

to utter a moan he moaned and cried for days after his dog, his only companion, died

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in complaining

to express dissatisfaction, pain, or resentment usually tiresomely their son moaned whenever anyone asked him to do some work

Synonyms & Similar Words

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 moaning

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 By the time Fowler gave up trying to put one in Carruthers, DiLiberato could hear her client moaning and see blood oozing out of his puncture wounds. — Keri Blakinger, ProPublica, 6 Oct. 2026 At the same time, Plog placed a phone call to a relative and can be heard moaning and screaming in pain. — Rosalio Ahumada, Sacbee.com, 18 Sep. 2026 Hall wrote in his report that Hamilton lay down in the backseat of the police vehicle, moaning and not responding, prompting first responders to give him Narcan. — Arkansas Online, 14 Aug. 2026 Video released by the Milwaukie Police Department shows Descamps sprawled in a hospital bed, his body limp, moaning and drooling, while medical staff stood nearby. — Brian Mann, NPR, 6 Aug. 2026 Swinging his hips, moaning into the mic and briefly getting promiscuous with a mic stand was the authenticity that the majority-millennial crowd expected. — Sophie Lindberg july 11, Kansas City Star, 12 July 2026 Federal officers stand over a man with a bloody shirt who is handcuffed face down, moaning in pain as his left foot shakes. — Andrea Castillo, Los Angeles Times, 10 July 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for moaning

Adjective

Some in the pro-crying camp pointed to articles and headlines as proof.

— Jon Sarlin, CNN Money, 11 July 2026

Definition of crying

Verb

The splitscreen offered by the contenders from Texas left even diehard Republicans groaning.

— Philip Elliott, Time, 30 Sep. 2026
Whatever the result, Sunday’s election in the state of Saxony-Anhalt is a clear signal flare that the foundations of modern Germany are groaning.

— Mark Sappenfield, Christian Science Monitor, 4 Sep. 2026

Definition of groaning

Verb

That would drive up yields on French bonds, making borrowing to fund that spending even more expensive—and thus worsen the problem that the rioters are complaining about.

— Jason Ma, Fortune, 10 Oct. 2026
Voters are not going to make legislators do a better job by grumbling and complaining.

— Scott Warren, Washington Post, 9 Oct. 2026

Definition of complaining

Adjective

Either that, or the Daily Mail editors had a howling good time with publication dates.

— Pat Beall, Sun Sentinel, 3 Apr. 2026
In the elk- and deer-rich areas of northern Yellowstone National Park, ravens are often among the first scavengers to arrive on the scene, swooping down to feast on scraps left behind by the howling canines.

— Nidhi Sharma, Popular Science, 12 Mar. 2026

Definition of howling

Verb

Zheng clinched with her first match point chance, serving an ace to Andreeva’s backhand side, then fell to the court sobbing with emotion.

— ABC News, ABC News, 11 Oct. 2026
Images of an angry and sobbing Brown became the media’s hallmark of grief during the criminal trial, particularly when Simpson was acquitted in 1995.

— Lorraine Ali, Los Angeles Times, 6 Oct. 2026

Definition of sobbing

Verb

At an intersection in Hyde Park that, days earlier, had been the scene of chaos — a young girl on the ground, a car with a teenage boy on the windshield, a mother screaming — Jonathan Hale led his band of rebels.

— Andrew J. Campa, Los Angeles Times, 16 Oct. 2026
Someone who people think is abrasive and is screaming ‘Love me,’ but punching people at the same time.

— David Fear, Rolling Stone, 13 Oct. 2026

Definition of screaming

Verb

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
Dogs may actually improve our sleep habits by forcing us to adjust to consistent bedtime schedules — as anyone with a sleepy, whining dog can confirm.

— Gina Vivinetto, NBC news, 7 Oct. 2026

Definition of whining

Browse Nearby Words

moaners

moaning

moans

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Style

“Moaning.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/moaning. Accessed 20 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of moaning

adjective

verb

Example Sentences

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