What does bemoan mean?
Word: Bemoan
Part of Speech: Verb
Meaning: Bemoan means to complain about something or express sadness that it is happening, often again and again.
Synonyms: regret, grumble about, complain about
Antonyms: celebrate, welcome
Word origin: From an Old English verb meaning 'to complain' or 'to mourn'.
How do you spell bemoan?
Syllables: be - moan
Tricky part: The second part is spelt oa, just like moan, so bemone and bemoane are wrong.
Watch out for: bemone, bemoane, bemoen
Memory tip: Someone who bemoans the rain is always moaning about it, and that moan is spelt the same way: m, o, a, n.
Bemoan in a sentence
Example 1: Fans bemoaned the loss of their favourite player to a rival club.
Example 2: Grandma never bemoans power cuts; she just lights a lamp and tells us stories.
Example 3: Farmers often bemoan the late arrival of the monsoon.
Fun Fact
Shakespeare's Sonnet 30 uses the rare form fore-bemoaned, meaning sighed over long ago, in the same line as the word moan.
Practise the CREST Way
Spell Spies
Choose the misspelt word/s in the given sentence:
Instead of bimoaning the rain, the team practised in the school hall and held a quick quiz.
a) only bimoaning
b) only quiz
c) practised and quiz
d) bimoaning and practised
Show answer
a) only bimoaning. The verb starts be-, like befriend and belittle; practised is the correct British verb.
Sound Check
Which word does not rhyme with bemoan?
a) none
b) postpone
c) unknown
d) condone
Show answer
a) none. None rhymes with sun; the others end with the 'own' sound of moan.
Word Puzzle
Match the words with the correct options:
1. bemoan 2. cherish 3. deceive a. mislead b. treasure c. lament
a) 1-b, 2-a, 3-c
b) 1-c, 2-a, 3-b
c) 1-b, 2-c, 3-a
d) 1-c, 2-b, 3-a
Show answer
d) 1-c, 2-b, 3-a. To bemoan is to lament, to cherish is to treasure, and to deceive is to mislead.
Jumble Tumble
Choose the correct sequence of the jumbled letters to form a meaningful word:
123456 OMNBEA
a) 452136
b) 452163
c) 425163
d) 361254
Show answer
b) 452163. Start with letter 4 and end with letter 3, and the scramble turns into the verb for complaining.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. Which remark shows a person bemoaning something?
a) 'Let us begin the meeting now.'
b) 'Why does it always rain on match days?'
c) 'Thank you for the kind gift.'
d) 'What a lovely sunny morning!'
Show answer
b) 'Why does it always rain on match days?'
2. Someone who bemoans their bad luck is most likely feeling ___.
a) excited
b) proud of themselves
c) sorry for themselves
d) grateful
Show answer
c) sorry for themselves
