What does plaintive mean?
Word: Plaintive
Part of Speech: Adjective
Meaning: Plaintive means sounding sad in a soft, high, rather weak way.
Synonyms: sad
How do you spell plaintive?
Syllables: plain - tive
Tricky part: The long a sound is spelt with two letters, ai, and pupils who drop the i are left with plant.
Watch out for: plantive, playntive
Memory tip: A plaintive voice is like rain on a window. Keep the ai of rain in it.
Plaintive in a sentence
Example 1: The plaintive whistle of a distant train drifted over the fields at dusk.
Example 2: Rohan gave a plaintive sigh when the rain washed out the cricket match.
Example 3: The puppy's plaintive whine stopped the moment the children came home.
Fun Fact
The word grew out of an old French word for a lament, and complain goes back to the same Latin verb.
Practise the CREST Way
Word Cookie
Choose the letters that complete the word:
plaint_v_
a) i, a
b) i, e
c) a, e
d) e, e
Show answer
b) i, e. The ending is the same as in native and active.
Mingle-Mangle
Unscramble the jumbled word in the sentence and choose it:
A pevlatiin cry came from the kitten stuck on the garage roof.
a) pleasant
b) plaintive
c) plentiful
d) palatable
Show answer
b) plaintive. The v in the jumble rules out the other three.
Word Connection
Choose the antonym of the word plaintive as used in the sentence:
From the hillside came the plaintive tune of a shepherd's flute.
a) doleful
b) cheerful
c) tearful
d) gloomy
Show answer
b) cheerful. The tune is sorrowful, so its opposite has to be bright and happy.
Spell-o-Spell
One word in the list is misspelt. Choose the meaning of the misspelt word:
1. wistful 2. melancoly 3. sombre 4. plaintive
a) dark and serious in mood
b) full of a quiet longing
c) thin and sorrowful in sound
d) a deep sadness that lingers
Show answer
d) a deep sadness that lingers. Melancholy has an h after the c, as chorus does.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. Which of these sounds is best described as plaintive?
a) a drill at work on the roadside
b) a lone calf calling for its mother
c) a brass band at the school gate
d) a crowd cheering a winning goal
Show answer
b) a lone calf calling for its mother
2. A plaintive note in a letter suggests that the writer feels ____.
a) annoyed about a late train
b) bored by the summer break
c) hurt and in need of comfort
d) proud of a recent prize
Show answer
c) hurt and in need of comfort
