Basic Details
Word: Lament
Part of Speech: Verb and noun
Meaning: As a verb, to show or say that you are very sad or sorry about something. As a noun, a song, poem or cry that expresses grief.
Synonyms: mourn, grieve, bemoan, wail
Antonyms: rejoice, celebrate
How to Spell Lament
Syllables: la - ment
Tricky part: There is one m, and the ending is -ment, not -mant. The stress falls on ment.
Watch out for: lamment, lamant, lement
Memory tip: La + ment. The ment is the same as in moment: a lament puts a sad moment into words.
Usage Examples
Example 1: The villagers lamented the loss of the old banyan tree.
Example 2: The singer ended the evening with a slow lament.
Example 3: Grandpa often laments that letters are no longer written by hand.
Fun Fact
A lament is one of the oldest kinds of poem. The Old English poem The Wanderer, more than a thousand years old, is a lament of a man who has lost his lord and friends.
Practise the CREST Way
Word Connection
Choose the antonym of the word lament as used in the sentence:
Every monsoon, the fishermen lament the nets that the storm has destroyed.
a) complain
b) mourn
c) rejoice
d) grieve
Show answer
c) rejoice. Mourn, grieve and complain are close to lament; to rejoice is to feel glad.
Word Cookie
Find the extra letter in the word:
lamment
a) n
b) m
c) e
d) a
Show answer
b) m. La is followed straight by ment, so only one m is needed.
Mingle-Mangle
Unjumble the letters in the sentence to form a meaningful word:
The old song is a tmeanl for the soldiers who never came home.
a) ailment
b) element
c) latent
d) lament
Show answer
d) lament. Six letters with an m and one t: latent has two t's, and ailment and element are too long.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. A lament is usually a song or poem about ____.
a) loss and sorrow
b) jokes and riddles
c) sports and games
d) food and cooking
Show answer
a) loss and sorrow
2. When someone laments their bad luck, they ____.
a) laugh about it
b) complain sadly about it
c) forget about it
d) boast about it
Show answer
b) complain sadly about it
