plaintive
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
As he sings on “Come Back,” the album’s plaintive opener, “I had a really strange reaction, delayed I think by simple fear, if I don’t listen I can’t hear.”
From Salon • May 15, 2026
The plaintive observation, ascribed to the early Victorian British Prime Minister Viscount Melbourne about the acerbically self-confident historian Thomas Babington Macaulay, remains the motto of the thoughtfully skeptical man through the ages.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 30, 2026
The English horn issued a plaintive, simple melody, as if trying to evoke older memories of a nearly forgotten time.
From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 22, 2025
The resulting lush and exotic soundscape, featuring plaintive pan flute and sprinkled with birdsong, turned out to be perfect for the game’s spooktastic forest levels.
From New York Times • Nov. 19, 2024
"Milord," a plaintive voice called down from the forecastle of the merchanter.
From "A Clash of Kings" by George R.R. Martin
Vocabulary lists containing plaintive
Grade 11, List 1
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Things Fall Apart
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Night
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