bemoan


Also found in: Thesaurus.

be·moan

 (bĭ-mōn′)
tr.v. be·moaned, be·moan·ing, be·moans
1. To express grief over; lament.
2. To express disapproval of or regret for; deplore: "[He] recently bemoaned 'the cancer of the sound bite' afflicting Presidential campaigning" (John Tierney).

[Middle English bimonen, alteration (influenced by mone, moan) of bimenen, from Old English bemǣnan : be-, be- + mǣnan, to complain of; see mei-no- in Indo-European roots.]
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

bemoan

(bɪˈməʊn)
vb
to grieve over (a loss, etc); mourn; lament (esp in the phrase bemoan one's fate)
[Old English bemǣnan; see be-, moan]
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

be•moan

(bɪˈmoʊn)

v.t.
1. to express distress or grief over; lament: to bemoan one's fate.
2. to regard with regret or disapproval.
[before 1000; re-formation of earlier bemene, Middle English bimenen, Old English bimǣnan; see be-, moan]
be•moan′ing•ly, adv.
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.

bemoan

, lament - Bemoaning is motivated when pity or grief is over an event that is joined to a consequence, whereas lamenting is motivated when the grief is over the event itself.
See also related terms for pity.
Farlex Trivia Dictionary. © 2012 Farlex, Inc. All rights reserved.

bemoan


Past participle: bemoaned
Gerund: bemoaning

Imperative
bemoan
bemoan
Present
I bemoan
you bemoan
he/she/it bemoans
we bemoan
you bemoan
they bemoan
Preterite
I bemoaned
you bemoaned
he/she/it bemoaned
we bemoaned
you bemoaned
they bemoaned
Present Continuous
I am bemoaning
you are bemoaning
he/she/it is bemoaning
we are bemoaning
you are bemoaning
they are bemoaning
Present Perfect
I have bemoaned
you have bemoaned
he/she/it has bemoaned
we have bemoaned
you have bemoaned
they have bemoaned
Past Continuous
I was bemoaning
you were bemoaning
he/she/it was bemoaning
we were bemoaning
you were bemoaning
they were bemoaning
Past Perfect
I had bemoaned
you had bemoaned
he/she/it had bemoaned
we had bemoaned
you had bemoaned
they had bemoaned
Future
I will bemoan
you will bemoan
he/she/it will bemoan
we will bemoan
you will bemoan
they will bemoan
Future Perfect
I will have bemoaned
you will have bemoaned
he/she/it will have bemoaned
we will have bemoaned
you will have bemoaned
they will have bemoaned
Future Continuous
I will be bemoaning
you will be bemoaning
he/she/it will be bemoaning
we will be bemoaning
you will be bemoaning
they will be bemoaning
Present Perfect Continuous
I have been bemoaning
you have been bemoaning
he/she/it has been bemoaning
we have been bemoaning
you have been bemoaning
they have been bemoaning
Future Perfect Continuous
I will have been bemoaning
you will have been bemoaning
he/she/it will have been bemoaning
we will have been bemoaning
you will have been bemoaning
they will have been bemoaning
Past Perfect Continuous
I had been bemoaning
you had been bemoaning
he/she/it had been bemoaning
we had been bemoaning
you had been bemoaning
they had been bemoaning
Conditional
I would bemoan
you would bemoan
he/she/it would bemoan
we would bemoan
you would bemoan
they would bemoan
Past Conditional
I would have bemoaned
you would have bemoaned
he/she/it would have bemoaned
we would have bemoaned
you would have bemoaned
they would have bemoaned
Collins English Verb Tables © HarperCollins Publishers 2011
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:
Verb1.bemoan - regret stronglybemoan - regret strongly; "I deplore this hostile action"; "we lamented the loss of benefits"
kvetch, plain, quetch, complain, sound off, kick - express complaints, discontent, displeasure, or unhappiness; "My mother complains all day"; "She has a lot to kick about"
Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.

bemoan

verb lament, regret, complain about, rue, deplore, grieve for, weep for, bewail, cry over spilt milk, express sorrow about, moan over He continually bemoans his lot in life.
Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002
Translations

bemoan

[bɪˈməʊn] VTlamentar
Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

bemoan

[bɪˈməʊn] vtdéplorer
Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

bemoan

vtbeklagen
Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

bemoan

[bɪˈməʊn] vtlamentare
Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995
References in classic literature ?
Overcome with shame and grief, they tried to cry and bemoan their fate.
Foreign words in the text annoyed her and made her bemoan her want of a classical education - she had only attended a Dame's school during some easy months - but she never passed the foreign words by until their meaning was explained to her, and when next she and they met it was as acquaintances, which I think was clever of her.
But Estella is a different case, and if you can ever undo any scrap of what you have done amiss in keeping a part of her right nature away from her, it will be better to do that, than to bemoan the past through a hundred years."
Well--I bemoan it not; for if the fountain gushed at my very doorstep, I would not stoop to bathe my lips in it--no, though its delirium were for years instead of moments.
I bemoaned that, as I gazed on the feeble orphan; and I mentally abused old Linton for (what was only natural partiality) the securing his estate to his own daughter, instead of his son's.
When he is under the depressing influence of the after-consequences, he bemoans his sufferings and his errors, and charges them both upon me; he knows such indulgence injures his health, and does him more harm than good; but he says I drive him to it by my unnatural, unwomanly conduct; it will be the ruin of him in the end, but it is all my fault; and then I am roused to defend myself, sometimes with bitter recrimination.
And the birds of the air came too, and bemoaned Snowdrop; and first of all came an owl, and then a raven, and at last a dove, and sat by her side.
Prince James then tells of his past life, of how, when he was a lad, his father sent him across the sea in a ship, and of how he was taken prisoner and found himself in "Straight ward and strong prison" "without comfort in sorrow." And there full often he bemoaned his fate, asking what crime was his that he should be shut up within four walls when other men were free.
The prisoners bemoaned his loss, and missed him; for though his means were not large, his charity was great, and in bestowing alms among them he considered the necessities of all alike, and knew no distinction of sect or creed.
The Sultan looked round to discover who it was who thus bemoaned his fate, and at last saw a handsome young man, richly clothed, who was sitting on a throne raised slightly from the ground.
"Very good, very good." And immediately, making the king get out of the carriage, he led him, still accompanied by Porthos, who had not taken off his mask, and Aramis, who again resumed his, up the stairs, to the second Bertaudiere, and opened the door of the room in which Philippe for six long years had bemoaned his existence.
But it's a bit rich of a man made obscenely wealthy by TV producers to bemoan his plight.