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bewail

Archaic Terms
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

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The pronunciation guide uses the ARPABET phonetic system—the same system used in speech recognition and text-to-speech applications.

Vowel Examples:
AE1 = cat, bat
EH1 = bed, head
IY1 = see, me
OW1 = go, boat
UW1 = boot, do
Stress Numbers:
0 = no stress (unstressed)
1 = primary stress (loud)
2 = secondary stress (medium)
Example:
AH0 TH IY1 N AH0
= a-THEE-na (Athena)

The stressed syllable (marked with 1) is pronounced louder and clearer than others.

Quick Definition

To lament or express deep sorrow over something; to mourn or grieve, often publicly or loudly, emphasizing demonstrative displays of grief or regret.

Detailed Definition
“Bewail” suggests vocal, even theatrical mourning, common in classical and Renaissance laments. It appears in tragedies to mark communal or personal catastrophe. The prefix “be-” intensifies, implying total immersion in grief. Poets use it to dramatize loss, especially of innocence, love, or honor, aligning with conventions that value expressive sorrow as proof of depth and sincerity.
Example
Example in poetry:
"She bewailed her fate in solitary verse," a trope of the female elegist; In Lamentations: "How doth the city sit solitary... she weepeth sore in the night"; Shakespeare’s Titus Andronicus: "I’ll haunt thee like a wicked conscience still, / That will not let thee sleep... and make thee bewail"; Milton’s Samson bewails his blindness; "Bewail not the rose that fades, but praise its bloom," advises a carpe diem lyric; The nation bewailed its fallen king in dirges.
Additional Notes
“Bewail” implies loud, public mourning, often ritualized; unlike private “bemoan,” it suggests communal grief or performative sorrow, common in classical and biblical allusions within epic or tragic poetry.
Also Known As
lament mourn cry
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