whimper

v., -pered, -per·ing, -pers.

v.intr.

1. To cry or sob with soft intermittent sounds; whine. See synonyms at cry.
2. To complain.

v.tr.
To utter in a whimper.

n.
A low, broken, sobbing sound; a whine.

[Probably imitative.]

whimperer whim'per·er n.
whimperingly whim'per·ing·ly adv.

Zacarias Moussaoui, who hoped that America would meet its end in an al-Qaeda-inspired "big bang," will instead eventually meet his own with a whining, broken sob. So said sentencing judge Leonie Brinkema as she condemned him to life in a supermax prison for his role in the 9/11 attacks:

"She told him: 'You came here to be a martyr in a great big bang of glory, but to paraphrase the poet T. S. Eliot, instead you will die with a whimper.' Moussaoui tried to interrupt, but she continued: 'You will never get a chance to speak again and that's an appropriate ending.'"

Link: 'You will die with a whimper'

Posted May 8, 2006.

See our Word Overheard blog to see interesting uses of strange words.

verb

To cry with soft, intermittent, often plaintive sounds: pule, whine. See sounds/pleasant sounds/unpleasant sounds/neutral sounds or silence.

v

Definition: cry softly
Antonyms: bawl

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Dansk (Danish)
v. intr. - klage sig
v. tr. - klage, klynke
n. - klagelyd, klynken

Nederlands (Dutch)
dreinen, murmelen, janken niet met veel fanfare maar als een nachtkaars

Français (French)
v. intr. - gémir, pleurnicher
v. tr. - gémir
n. - gémissement

Deutsch (German)
v. - wimmern, winseln, in klagendem Ton vorbringen
n. - Wimmern, Winseln

Ελληνική (Greek)
v. - κλαψουρίζω, κλαυθμηρίζω, βογγώ
v. - κλαψούρισμα, κλαυθμηρισμός

Italiano (Italian)
piagnucolare

idioms:

• not with a bang but a whimper    non con uno schianto ma con una lagna

Português (Portuguese)
v. - choramingar
v. - choradeira (f)

Русский (Russian)
хныканье, вой, визг, хныкать, скулить

idioms:

• not with a bang but a whimper    не так как ожидалось

Español (Spanish)
v. intr. - lloriquear, gimotear
v. tr. - decir algo lloriqueando,
n. - lloriqueo, gimoteo

Svenska (Swedish)
v. - gnällande
v. - gnälla

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
呜咽, 抽噎地哭, 啜泣, 呜咽着说, 啜泣着说

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
v. intr. - 嗚咽, 抽噎地哭, 啜泣
v. tr. - 嗚咽著說, 啜泣著說
n. - 嗚咽, 啜泣

한국어 (Korean)
v. intr. - 흐느끼다, 투덜거리다
v. tr. - 슬픈 듯 말하다
n. - 흐느낌, 탄원

日本語 (Japanese)
v. - しくしく泣く, クンクン鳴く, 泣き声で言う, 泣き声を出す
n. - しくしく泣く声, クンクン鳴く声

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(الاسم) نشيج, أنين, زقا, تذمر, شكوى (فعل) ينشج, يشهف, يئن, يتذمر, يبكي‏

עברית (Hebrew)
v. intr. - ‮בכה, ייבב‬
v. tr. - ‮אמר בבכי‬
n. - ‮בכי, קול יבבה‬

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