- to express resentment, displeasure, etc, esp habitually; grumble
- (followed by of) to state the presence of pain, illness, etc, esp in the hope of sympathy: she complained of a headache
WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026
com•plain /kəmˈpleɪn/USA pronunciation
v.
com•plain•ing•ly, adv.
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026- to express dissatisfaction, resentment, pain, grief, etc.;
find fault: [no object]She's always whining and complaining.[~ + of/about + object]complained of head pains; complaining about the weather.[~ + (that) clause]She complained that no one was treating her fairly. - [~ + to + object] to make a formal protest, accusation, or complaint: You must complain to the police.
com•plain•ing•ly, adv.
- complain is a verb, complaint is a noun:They always complain about the homework. They brought their complaints to their teacher.
com•plain
(kəm plān′),USA pronunciation v.i.
com•plain′a•ble, adj.
com•plain′er, n.
com•plain′ing•ly, adv.
- to express dissatisfaction, pain, uneasiness, censure, resentment, or grief;
find fault:He complained constantly about the noise in the corridor. - to tell of one's pains, ailments, etc.:to complain of a backache.
- to make a formal accusation:If you think you've been swindled, complain to the police.
- Vulgar Latin *complangere, equivalent. to Latin com- com- + plangere to lament; see plaint
- Anglo-French compleign-, stem of compleindre, Old French complaindre
- Middle English compleinen 1350–1400
com•plain′er, n.
com•plain′ing•ly, adv.
- 1. Complain, grumble, growl, whine are terms for expressing dissatisfaction or discomfort. To complain is to protest against or lament a wrong:to complain about high prices.To grumble is to utter ill-natured complaints half to oneself:to grumble about the service.Growl may express more anger than grumble:to growl in reply to a question.To whine is to complain in a meanspirited way, using a nasal tone:to whine like a coward, like a spoiled child.
- 1. rejoice.
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
complain /kəmˈpleɪn/ vb (intransitive)
'complain' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):
after
- arraign
- become
- beef
- bellyache
- bind
- bitch
- boot
- carp
- disgruntle
- gripe
- groan
- grouch
- grouchy
- grouse
- grump
- jangle
- kvetch
- moan
- murmur
- mutter
- nark
- noise
- plain
- protest
- quarrel
- querulous
- rail
- report
- sook
- squawk
- squeal
- use
- wherrit
- whimper
- whinge
- whittle
- wowser
- yammer
- cause
- cavil
- chunder
- complainant
- crab
- crybaby
- deplore
- dump
- far
- fault
- faultfinding