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.

Gladiator II and Hamnet star Mescal has a huge social media fanbase and mentioned last December he was loving a song called Evelyn, a plaintive folk ballad from Michael's second album Thin White Road.

From BBC • Jan. 22, 2026

Testing the human animal’s tolerance for plaintive fiddles, wheezy bagpipes, Peter Coyote and the whispery recitations of diary entries, “The American Revolution” is the most Ken Burns-y of Ken Burns series.

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 13, 2025

I remember one particularly plaintive voice on the phone: “Steven, why are you lying to me? What have I done wrong?”

From Slate • Oct. 29, 2024

One of the most plaintive refrains of the Y2K era was sung by Mark Hoppus of Blink-182: “Well, I guess this is growing up.”

From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 25, 2024

There was another yelp, this one constrained and plaintive.

From "Sounder" by William H. Armstrong