/ kəmˈpleɪn; NAmE / verb
complain (to sb) (about / of sth) to say that you are annoyed, unhappy or not satisfied about sb/sth :
[ v ]
I'm going to complain to the manager about this.
She never complains, but she's obviously exhausted.
The defendant complained of intimidation during the investigation.
( informal )
'How are you?' 'Oh, I can't complain (= I'm all right) .'
[ v ( that )]
He complained bitterly that he had been unfairly treated.
[ v speech ]
'It's not fair,' she complained.
•
PHRASAL VERBS
- complain of sth
••
SYNONYMS
complain
protest ♦ object ♦ grumble ♦ moan ♦ whine ♦ whinge
These words all mean to say that you are annoyed, unhappy or not satisfied about sb/sth.
complain
to say that you are annoyed, unhappy or not satisfied about sb / sth:
I'm going to complain to the manager about this.
protest
to say or do sth to show that you disagree with or disapprove of sth, especially publicly; to give sth as a reason for protesting:
Students took to the streets to protest against the decision.
object
to say that you disagree with or disapprove of sth; to give sth as a reason for objecting:
If nobody objects, we'll postpone the meeting till next week.
•
He objected that the police had arrested him without sufficient evidence.
grumble
( rather informal disapproving ) to complain about sb/sth in a bad-tempered way:
They kept grumbling that they were cold.
moan
( BrE rather informal disapproving ) to complain about sb/sth in an annoying way:
What are you moaning on about now?
whine
( rather informal disapproving ) to complain in an annoying, crying voice:
Stop whining!
•
'I want to go home,' whined Toby.
NOTE
Whine is often used to talk about the way that young children complain.
whinge
( BrE informal disapproving ) to complain about sb/sth in an annoying way:
She's always whingeing about how unfair everything is.
grumble, moan or whinge ?
These are all fairly informal words for 'complain'. Grumble tells you how the person who is complaining feels (= they are in a bad mood) ; moan and whinge tell you more about how the people listening to the complaints feel (= the complaining is annoying them) .
PATTERNS AND COLLOCATIONS :
to complain / protest / grumble / moan / whine / whinge about sth
to complain / protest / grumble / moan at sth
to complain / protest / object / grumble / moan / whine / whinge to sb
to complain / protest / object / grumble / moan / whine that...
to complain / protest / object bitterly
••
WORD ORIGIN
late Middle English : from Old French complaindre , from medieval Latin complangere bewail, from Latin com- (expressing intensive force) + plangere to lament.