Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English homepage

Date: 1500-1600
Language: French
Origin: lamenter, from Latin lamentari, from lamentum 'a lament'

lament

1 verb
     
la‧ment1 written
1 [intransitive and transitive] to express feelings of great sadness about something:
The nation lamented the death of its great war leader.
2 [transitive] to express annoyance or disappointment about something you think is unsatisfactory or unfair
lament that
He lamented that people had expected too much of him too soon.
She lamented the fact that manufacturers did not produce small packs for single-person households.
lament the lack/absence/decline etc of something
Steiner lamented the lack of public interest in the issue.
Definition from the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
Advanced Learner's Dictionary.

Dictionary pictures of the day
Do you know what each of these is called?
What is the word for picture 1? What is the word for picture 2? What is the word for picture 3? What is the word for picture 4?
Click on any of the pictures above to find out what it is called.

Explore our topic dictionary

Browse the dictionary