bemoan
verb
be·moan bi-ˈmōn 
bē-
bemoaned; bemoaning; bemoans
transitive verb
1
: to express deep grief or distress over
bemoan the death of their leader
2
: to regard with displeasure, disapproval, or regret
bemoaning the lack of civility in modern political discourse
Synonyms
- bewail
- deplore
- grieve (for)
- lament
- mourn
- wail (for)
See all Synonyms & Antonyms 
Example Sentences
He bemoans the fact that the team lost again. an article bemoaning the decline in voter turnout Some critics are always bemoaning the state of the language.
Recent Examples on the Web Arsenal will bemoan a 12th-minute goal by Gabriel Martinelli getting ruled out following an intervention by the video referee for a slight push by Martin Odegaard on Christian Eriksen. 
Steve Douglas, ajc, 4 Sep. 2022 Few are likely to bemoan the absence of the long choral interludes of description or lamentation. Charles Isherwood, WSJ, 28 July 2022 Studies still bemoan how U.S. children lag in math and science. Chelsea Sheasley, The Christian Science Monitor, 8 June 2022 Dolphins fans bemoan not winning a playoff game since 2000. Dave Hyde, Sun Sentinel, 14 May 2022 People bemoan these cars' unreliability and finicky tune, but many of these problems were resolved by the incorporation of fuel injection in '87 (this one has it), and most others, in enduring cars, have been shaken out. Clifford Atiyeh, Car and Driver, 15 Apr. 2022 One speaker at the Amateur Athletic Union’s annual meeting took the time to bemoan how much the hobby had bled into practice time. Jackie Mansky, Smithsonian Magazine, 4 Apr. 2022 Making a Neighborhood goes beyond freebies, throwing down a challenge to people who bemoan the loss of local news but won’t shell out what amounts to a monthly latte: Pay up. Los Angeles Times, 15 Mar. 2022 To the Mexican government and alcohol companies, the rage for tequila is perhaps an unqualified success, but ecologists like Valiente bemoan it. Samanth Subramanian, Quartz, 8 Mar. 2022 See More
Steve Douglas, ajc, 4 Sep. 2022 Few are likely to bemoan the absence of the long choral interludes of description or lamentation. Charles Isherwood, WSJ, 28 July 2022 Studies still bemoan how U.S. children lag in math and science. Chelsea Sheasley, The Christian Science Monitor, 8 June 2022 Dolphins fans bemoan not winning a playoff game since 2000. Dave Hyde, Sun Sentinel, 14 May 2022 People bemoan these cars' unreliability and finicky tune, but many of these problems were resolved by the incorporation of fuel injection in '87 (this one has it), and most others, in enduring cars, have been shaken out. Clifford Atiyeh, Car and Driver, 15 Apr. 2022 One speaker at the Amateur Athletic Union’s annual meeting took the time to bemoan how much the hobby had bled into practice time. Jackie Mansky, Smithsonian Magazine, 4 Apr. 2022 Making a Neighborhood goes beyond freebies, throwing down a challenge to people who bemoan the loss of local news but won’t shell out what amounts to a monthly latte: Pay up. Los Angeles Times, 15 Mar. 2022 To the Mexican government and alcohol companies, the rage for tequila is perhaps an unqualified success, but ecologists like Valiente bemoan it. Samanth Subramanian, Quartz, 8 Mar. 2022 See More Word History
First Known Use
before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1
Kids Definition
bemoan
verb
be·moan bi-ˈmōn
bemoaned; bemoaning
: to express sadness, distress, or displeasure over
bemoaning 1 of 2
adjective
as in weeping
expressing or suggesting mourning one parishioner who always seems to have a bemoaning expression on her face Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
- weeping
- heartbroken
- mournful
- funeral
- grieving
- wailing
- bewailing
- bitter
- deploring
- lamentable
- aching
- sorry
- sad
- unhappy
- anguished
- woeful
- melancholy
- agonized
- crying
- regretful
- plaintive
- sorrowful
- tearful
- depressed
- doleful
- lugubrious
- dolorous
- rueful
- groaning
- somber
- moaning
- plangent
- bleak
- keening
- funereal
- dark
- pathetic
- dolesome
- morbid
- darkening
- miserable
- dejected
- disconsolate
- suffering
- heartsick
- despondent
- dispirited
- howling
- yammering
- crestfallen
- downcast
- inconsolable
- woebegone
- elegiac
- downhearted
- bleeding
- bawling
- glum
- moody
- miserable
- gloomy
- forlorn
- downcast
- downhearted
- desolate
- brokenhearted
- dismal
- careworn
- gray
- black
- low
- wretched
- piteous
- cheerless
- elegiacal
- heartsore
- dirgelike
- glum
- sullen
- joyless
- gloomy
- pessimistic
- triste
- dreary
- morose
- comfortless
- saturnine
- low-spirited
- grey
- sombre
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- happy
- triumphant
- delighted
- laughing
- rejoicing
- joyful
- smiling
- cheerful
- exulting
- cheery
- bright
- glorying
- encouraging
- joyous
- cheering
- blissful
- merry
- blithe
- jolly
- buoyant
- optimistic
- hopeful
- mirthful
- lighthearted
- giddy
- ecstatic
- rapturous
- rhapsodic
- jocund
- euphoric
- blithesome
- heady
- elated
- rhapsodical
- exhilarated
bemoaning
2 of 2verb
1
as in lamenting
to feel or express sorrow for bemoaned the death of his wife by writing a series of poignant letters addressed to her Synonyms & Similar Words
- lamenting
- mourning
- bewailing
- regretting
- deploring
- ruing
- moaning
- wailing (for)
- grieving (for)
- weeping
- sobbing
- keening
- hurting
- blubbering
- elegizing
- suffering
- sorrowing
- bawling
- agonizing
- crying (for)
- bleeding
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- delighting
- laughing
- rejoicing (in)
- smiling
- grinning
- exulting (in)
- cheering
- joying
- beaming
- glorying (in)
2
as in regretting
to feel sorry or dissatisfied about a think piece bemoaning the coarsening of our society over the last several decades Synonyms & Similar Words
- regretting
- lamenting
- ruing
- repenting
- bewailing
- deploring
- mourning
- grieving (for)
- sorrowing (for)
- aching (for)
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- enjoying
- relishing
- savoring
- savouring
- delighting (in)
- reveling (in)
- revelling (in)