plaintive

Dictionary

plaintive |ˈplāntiv|

adjective

sounding sad and mournful : a plaintive cry. DERIVATIVES plaintively adverb plaintiveness noun ORIGIN late Middle English : from Old French plaintif, -ive, from plainte ‘lamentation’ (see plaint ).

Thesaurus

plaintive adjective a plaintive cry mournful, sad, wistful, doleful, pathetic, pitiful, piteous, melancholy, sorrowful, unhappy, wretched, woeful, forlorn, woebegone; literary dolorous.