adj
Meaning 1
That cries.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: not-comparable
Examples
- The crying child on the street was evidently lost.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: in tears, sobbing, weeping
Antonyms: none provided
Standard Lemma guide
crying
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
Sound
Pronunciation
Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.
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/ˈkɹaɪ̯.ɪŋ/
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US: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
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rhymes with -aɪɪŋ
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CMU ARPABET: K R AY1 IH0 NG Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
adj
Meaning 2
That demands action or attention; desperate.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: not-comparable
Examples
- There is a crying need for more manual workers in this country.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
adj
Meaning 3
That deserves rebuke or censure; deplorable.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: not-comparable
Examples
- It is a crying shame that he managed to get away with that!
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
noun
Meaning 4
The act of one who cries; a weeping or shouting.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: countable, uncountable
Examples
- Their constant cryings kept us awake!
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
verb
Meaning 5
present participle and gerund of cry
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: form-of, gerund, participle, present
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
adjective satellite
Meaning 6
demanding attention- H.L.Mencken
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
Examples
- clamant needs
- a crying need
- regarded literary questions as exigent and momentous
- insistent hunger
- an instant need
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: clamant, exigent, insistent, instant
Antonyms: none provided
noun
Meaning 7
the process of shedding tears (usually accompanied by sobs or other inarticulate sounds)
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
Examples
- I hate to hear the crying of a child
- she was in tears
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: weeping, tears
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: bodily process, body process, bodily function, activity
Narrower terms: snivel, sniveling, sob, sobbing, wailing, bawling
History
Etymology
From cry + -ing.
Across languages
Translations
43 source translations are retained for this English entry.
- Arabic: بَاكٍ (bākin) — that cries
- Russian: пла́чущий (pláčuščij) — that cries
- Tamil: அழும் (aḻum) — that cries
- Arabic: بُكَاء (bukāʔ) — action of the verb cry
- Belarusian: плач (plač) — action of the verb cry
- Bulgarian: плач (plač) — action of the verb cry
- Catalan: plor — action of the verb cry
- Czech: pláč — action of the verb cry
- Danish: gråd — action of the verb cry
- Dutch: huilen — action of the verb cry
- Finnish: itkeminen — action of the verb cry
- French: pleur — action of the verb cry
- German: Weinen — action of the verb cry
- Gothic: 𐌲𐍂𐌴𐍄𐍃 (grēts) — action of the verb cry
- Ancient Greek: κλαυθμός (klauthmós) — action of the verb cry
- Hungarian: sírás — action of the verb cry
- Indonesian: tangisan — action of the verb cry
- Italian: pianto — action of the verb cry
- Kabuverdianu: txore — action of the verb cry
- Kabuverdianu: txoru — action of the verb cry
- Kashmiri: وَدُن (vadun) — action of the verb cry
- Latin: flētus — action of the verb cry
- Macedonian: плач (plač) — action of the verb cry
- Malay: tangisan — action of the verb cry
- Malayalam: കരച്ചിൽ (karaccil) — action of the verb cry
- Norwegian Bokmål: gråt — action of the verb cry
- Norwegian Nynorsk: gråt — action of the verb cry
- Occitan: plor — action of the verb cry
- Church Slavic: плачь (plačĭ) — action of the verb cry
- Polish: płacz — action of the verb cry
- Portuguese: choro — action of the verb cry
- Russian: плач (plač) — action of the verb cry
- Serbo-Croatian: пла̏ч — action of the verb cry
- Serbo-Croatian: plȁč — action of the verb cry
- Slovak: plač — action of the verb cry
- Slovene: jok — action of the verb cry
- Spanish: llanto — action of the verb cry
- Swedish: gråt — action of the verb cry
- Tamil: அழுகை (aḻukai) — action of the verb cry
- Turkish: ağlama — action of the verb cry
- Ottoman Turkish: آغلامه (ağlama) — action of the verb cry
- Ukrainian: плач (plač) — action of the verb cry
- Khiamniungan Naga: tàng — to stop crying
Real reading context