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.
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
Mumford & Sons led the 2010s folk revival that minted a generation of plaintive, earnest singer-songwriter acts atop the charts.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 5, 2026
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
As Rangers people run around with their hair on fire, those words appear more plaintive than ever.
From BBC • Nov. 1, 2024
Leo couldn’t understand the words, but the song was plaintive and bittersweet, as if she were describing a home she could never return to.
From "The House of Hades" by Rick Riordan
Vocabulary lists containing plaintive
Grade 11, List 1
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Things Fall Apart
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Night
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