Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

wailing

/ˈweɪlɪŋ/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.11 in modern English

Syllables: wail-ing
IPA: /ˈweɪlɪŋ/

11

Scrabble Score

7

Letters

2

Syllables

6

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

A loud drawn out scream or howl.

verb

present participle and gerund of wail

Example Sentences

"'For as soon as I heard Tewkesbury tell of screams and wailings in the air, and no one to be seen,' said Elzevir, 'I guessed that some poor soul had got shut in the vault, and was there crying for his life."
"Craig ran off wailing because his friend pulled a prank on him."

Etymology

From wail + -ing.

Inflected Forms

wailings (plural)

Derived Forms

wailingly

Phrases

weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth

Synonyms

lamenting wailful bawling

Homonyms

whaling waling

Rhymes With

failing sailing scaling detailing mailing prevailing trailing railing whaling unveiling hailing ailing

Questions

How do you pronounce wailing?: The recorded pronunciation is /ˈweɪlɪŋ/.
What does wailing mean?: A loud drawn out scream or howl.
Where does wailing come from?: From wail + -ing.

How to pronounce wailing

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “wailing”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/ˈweɪlɪŋ/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “wailing”.
Repeat and practice — Say “wailing” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.