keening

Banshee's mournful sound

Keening is a wailing lament for the dead, traditionally performed by women in Irish and Scottish funeral customs.

The practice involves sustained, high-pitched cries that rise and fall in mournful patterns.

The word now describes any similar sound of grief or anguish: the keening of the wind, a keening cry rose from the crowd.

wailing

ululation

Wavering, high-pitched wail

howlProlonged mournful cry
wailProlonged mournful cry
cryVocal expression of emotion

shriek · moan · sob · lament · caterwaul · yowl · scream · bawl · screech · whine

grief

anguish

Intense mental suffering

sorrowDeep emotional distress
bereavementState following loss
heartacheDeep emotional distress

desolation · loss · despair · woe · heartbreak · mourning · suffering · distress · torment · affliction

irish

banshee

Death-foretelling Irish spirit

CelticOf Irish-Welsh descent
GaelicCeltic linguistic tradition
traditionalFollowing long-held customs

folklore · Connemara · wake · women · oral · ancient · Aran · heritage · ritual · communal

mourning

funeral

Service honoring the dead

wakePath left in water
burialPlacing deceased underground
gravesideBeside a burial plot

death · vigil · condolences · widow · bereaved · shiva · sitting · visitation · interment · coffin

Categories

funeral customsburial, funeral, cremation, funeral procession, casket
funeralsfuneral, burial, cremation, casket, coffin
griefgrief, mourning, bereavement, sorrow, grieving
cryingcry, crying, tears, sob, sobbing
emotional releasecry, venting, crying, sob, sobbing
lamentslamentation, wailing, lament, moaning, groaning

Opposites

emotional expression

keeningrejoicing

Feeling or showing triumph

jubilation · cheering · exultation · laughing · merriment

sound/vocalization

keeningsilence

Total lack of sound

muteness · quiet · stillness · hush · whispering

ritual response to death/loss

keeningcelebration of life

Upbeat funeral alternative

birth announcement · christening · festivity · welcoming ceremony · light

Family

keen, keenest, keener, keens, keened

Familiarity: Top 500,000
Profile: Used worldwide · Timeless · Negative · Everyday, not technical · Rated PG