Synonyms for complain
Most common
moan whine grumble kvetch find fault press charges nag remonstrate
Synonyms by meaning
Verb
1. Whine
whine, grumble, gripe informal, moan, kvetch, mutter, croak, whimper, kick, grouch, sound off, grouse informal, growl, crab, bellyache informal, expostulate, quetch, bitch vulgar, murmur dated, plain dated, beef slang
Other
find fault, take on, nag, remonstrate, press charges, grunt, carp, grotch slang dated
Definitions
- v. 1
To express feelings of pain, dissatisfaction, or resentment.
Joe was always complaining about the noise made by his neighbours.
- v. 2
To state the presence of something negative; to indicate that one is suffering from something; to report (e.g.) a symptom.
The patient complained of headache, nausea, and joint pain.
Related words
- Word family
- complainant complainer
- Is a kind of
- communicate
Forms
- Past participle
- complained
e.g. complained → whined, grumbled, griped, moaned…
Choose the right word
To complain is to give utterance to dissatisfaction or objection, express a sense of wrong or ill treatment. One may complain of an offense to the offender or to others; he remonstrates with the offender only.
J. C. Fernald, English Synonyms and Antonyms (1914)
Example sentences
- moan We lament, complain, moan and start crying out in pain.
- whine What possessed you to whine about "Jewish power" to me?
- grumble His grandparents do nothing but grumble all day.
- kvetch He's such a schmuck. He does nothing but kvetch.
By length
- 3 letters
- nag1
- 4 letters
- kick1, beef1, crab1, moan1, carp1
- 5 letters
- bitch1, plain1, whine1, growl1, grunt1, gripe1, croak1
- 6 letters
- grieve1, lament2, grouse1, murmur2, mutter2, grouch1, bemoan2, kvetch1, repine, quetch, grotch
- 7 letters
- grumble2, whimper2
- 9 letters
- bellyache3
- 11 letters
- remonstrate, expostulate
The small number after each word is its number of syllables (lament2 = 2 syllables).
In other languages
- Français
- se plaindre
- Italiano
- lamentarsi
- Español
- lamentarse