COMPLAIN


Meaning of COMPLAIN in English

I. kəmˈplān verb

( -ed/-ing/-s )

Etymology: Middle English compleynen, from Middle French compleindre, complaindre (3d person plural present indicative complaignent ), from (assumed) Vulgar Latin complangere, from Latin com- + plangere to beat, beat the breast, lament — more at plaint

intransitive verb

1. obsolete : to express sorrow with weeping and outcry : lament

2.

a. : to express discontent, dissatisfaction, protest, resentment, or regret usually without recalcitrance or threat and as though expecting sympathy

began to complain of it and lament her being ill-used — Jane Austen

his troubles were really little ones. He had nothing to complain about — Lenard Kaufman

b.

(1) archaic : to be ailing

(2) : to speak of one's illness or symptoms

3. : to make a formal accusation, charge, or complaint

the French consulate and the English consulate had complained of him … charging him with being high-handed — Louis Bromfield

4. : to groan, creak, or make an otherwise mournful sound as though protesting or lamenting

the overloaded wagon complaining at each turn

transitive verb

1. obsolete : lament : weep at : bewail

2. : to say or relate with dissatisfaction, protest, or regret as though expecting sympathy or redress

Cotton Mather complained, “'Tis dreadful cold, my ink glass … is froze” — American Guide Series: Massachusetts

if we complain that so vague a term fails to do justice — Edward Sapir

Synonyms:

repine , grumble , grouse , beef , gripe , croak , squawk , bellyache : complain , which originally meant lamenting or bewailing, is now a general term for uttering unhappiness or discontent; it may indicate that a sympathetic reaction is expected or feasible

a voice complaining … a venomous and senile whimper — Jean Stafford

he had heard Ed complaining of his lot in life and crying out for new times — Sherwood Anderson

when the people complain, said Mirabeau, the people are always right — J.A.Froude

repine , now always bookish or literary, may suggest querulous plaintiveness

his old age may have been monotonous, but there was no repining about it — Brand Blanshard

In contrast, the following words range from the echoic suggestion of grumble to the slang form bellyache. grumble suggests discontented muttering, often from a personality hard to satisfy and given to ill-natured complaint

the way people grumble about their rates and taxes — G.B.Shaw

reluctant laughter and grumbling thanks — Kenneth Roberts

grouse may be applied to sustained forceful grumbling at annoyances

soldiers grousing about their food

never once have I heard him grouse about how tough things are — Saturday Review

beef may suggest angry or emphatic complaint

the beefing and clamoring by certain groups for a change — New Republic

a few who have drilled … beef about being kept in uniform — Dixon Wecter

gripe may suggest continued strong grumbling or criticizing, as though motivated by being griped

after two or three days in the Army, he gripes like a veteran at the brass, the shavetails, the chow — Christian Science Monitor

croak , squawk , and bellyache may imply lack of sympathy with the complainer. croak may suggest pessimistic, doleful, dismal complaining, squawk a loud raucous outcry, as of a fowl, perhaps ineffective, and bellyache a peevish or disgruntled whining

the little old lady in black … tells you how just last fall her husband died in Ohio, and damp mists her glasses; she blinks and croaks — R.P.Warren

the first industries to be hit by the credit curbs have squawked — Atlantic

bellyaching about rationing, curtailment of civilian goods, administrative confusion, and various other annoyances — Harper's

II. noun

( -s )

Etymology: Middle English compleyn, from compleynen, v.

archaic : complaint

Webster's New International English Dictionary.      Новый международный словарь английского языка Webster.