whimper

/'wimp /

Thân thiện

The puppy lets out a whimper as it waits by the door.

Definition

1. Verb:

   • To cry or make sounds with low, weak, broken, and often plaintive or fearful vocalizations, typically expressing pain, distress, fear, or submissiveness.
   • To speak or complain in a feeble, whining, or subdued manner.

2. Noun:

   • A low, intermittent, broken cry or sound of this kind, often expressing complaint, pain, or fear.

Usage and Examples

• Verb:

  • The frightened puppy began to whimper when left alone.
  • "I don't want to go," she whimpered, her voice barely audible.
  • He whimpered in his sleep, troubled by a bad dream.

• Noun:

  • We heard a faint whimper coming from the other room.
  • Her protest was little more than a pathetic whimper.
  • The story ended not with a bang, but with a whimper.

Advanced Usage and Nuance

• Figurative Use: Often used to describe a weak, ineffective, or anticlimactic ending or protest.
  • After all the threats, their opposition faded to a whimper.
• Describing Speech: Used to characterize speech that is feeble, complaining, and lacking in strength or conviction.
  • He didn't argue; he just whimpered a few excuses.

Variants and Related Words

• Whimpering (noun/adj): The act or sound of whimpering. ()
• Whimperer (noun): One who whimpers. (Less common)

Synonyms

• Verb: Whine, mewl, pule, snivel, moan (softly).
• Noun: Whine, mewl, moan.

Antonyms

• Verb: Roar, bellow, shout, laugh.
• Noun: Roar, bang, shout.

Related Idioms and Phrases

• "Go out with a whimper, not a bang": To end in a weak, disappointing, or anticlimactic way, rather than dramatically. This idiom is famously derived from T.S. Eliot's poem "The Hollow Men."
  • The once-great team's season went out with a whimper after a series of losses.

Học thuật

Noun

1. a complaint uttered in a plaintive whining way

Verb

1. cry weakly or softly
   • she wailed with pain

Từ đồng nghĩa

• whine
• wail
• mewl
• pule