plaintiveness

noun

as in melancholy

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Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for plaintiveness
  1. melancholy
  2. mournfulness
  3. dejection
  4. sorrow
  5. gloom
Noun
  • On the one hand, there’s a fascination with collective joy and the forms of vernacular invention that aspire to it; on the other, there’s an underlying melancholy that points to the inevitability of isolation, an epistemology of loneliness.
    — Pablo Larios, Artforum, 1 Sep. 2026
  • Beneath all the sensuality and beauty, there’s also a lingering melancholy that feels very familiar to me.
    — Erik Pedersen, Oc Register, 16 June 2026
Definition of melancholy
Noun
  • Power Ballad should be breezy and fun, with that twist of mournfulness that Carney is always so adept at pulling off.
    — Stephanie Zacharek, Time, 29 May 2026
Definition of mournfulness
Noun
  • In the end, Gizelle’s team triumphs, prompting more dejection from Vicki.
    — Louis Peitzman, Vulture, 17 Aug. 2026
  • This has been one of Norway’s great months and reaching the end of the line was as much cause for pride as dejection across the capital.
    — Philip Buckingham, New York Times, 12 July 2026
Definition of dejection
Noun
  • The day ended in that same quad with feelings of sorrow, grief, shock and confusion.
    — PJ Green August 30, Kansas City Star, 30 Aug. 2026
  • Going back to the Mets example, perhaps in an uber-technical sense a Mets’ loss could have marginal economic impact as some fans guzzle more beer to drown away their sorrows.
    — Jon Brodkin, ArsTechnica, 28 Aug. 2026
Definition of sorrow
Noun
  • Bees avoid the gloom of the understory—with few flowers, there’s little to entice them—but wasps don’t mind it, and are attracted to the helleborines by the promise of an intoxicating nectar (itself made by a symbiosis with fungi).
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 20 Aug. 2026
  • Amid the gloom, one local nonprofit group is working to celebrate iconic cartoons to support the animators of today — and remind people of the joy of animation.
    — Marah Eakin, Los Angeles Times, 19 Aug. 2026
Definition of gloom
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.

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Cite this Entry

“Plaintiveness.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/plaintiveness. Accessed 6 Sep. 2026.

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