lamentation
Wailing in sorrow
Lamentation is the act of expressing grief or sorrow, often publicly and vocally.
A lamentation is also a specific utterance of grief—a wail, a dirge, a mournful cry: The lamentations of the mourners filled the church.
The word has a formal, literary quality; everyday speech prefers simpler terms like crying or grieving.
Mass for the deceased
- threnodyMemorial song of grief
- keeningVocal mourning for dead
- elegyPoem lamenting the departed
- eulogyTribute for the dead
funeral song · death-knell · plaintive · ululation · canticle · hymn · chant · singing
Deep emotional distress
- mourningPeriod following loss
- bereavementState following loss
- anguishIntense mental suffering
- heartacheDeep emotional distress
woe · sadness · despair · suffering · tears · loss · misery · heartbreak
Poem lamenting the departed
- odeLaudatory verse form
- epitaphText honoring the deceased
- threnodyMemorial song of grief
- psalmSacred scriptural song
verse · ballad · tribute · homage · commemoration · Job · keener
Sorrow over past actions
- contritionRemorseful state over misdeeds
- guiltMoral self-reproach
- repentanceRemorseful rejection of past wrongs
- penitenceRemorse for misdeeds
shame · self-reproach · compunction · confession · atonement · penance · breast-beating · ruefulness
requiem
Mass for the deceased
eulogy · funeral song · death-knell · plaintive · ululation · canticle · hymn · chant · singing · intoning
sorrow
Deep emotional distress
- mourningPeriod following loss
- bereavementState following loss
- anguishIntense mental suffering
heartache · woe · sadness · despair · suffering · tears · loss · misery · heartbreak · pain
elegy
Poem lamenting the departed
psalm · verse · ballad · tribute · homage · commemoration · Job · keener
regret
Sorrow over past actions
- contritionRemorseful state over misdeeds
- guiltMoral self-reproach
- repentanceRemorseful rejection of past wrongs
penitence · shame · self-reproach · compunction · confession · atonement · penance · breast-beating · ruefulness · apology
funeral
Service honoring the dead
vigil · procession · cortège · mourners · shroud · pall · hearse · interment · memorial · condolence
complaint
Expression of discontent
diatribe · harangue · rant · screed · denunciation · invective · polemic · grievance · condemnation · rebuke
- sacred chantsGregorian chant, plainchant, plainsong, antiphons, graduals
- Shia MourningAshura, Muharram, mourning, Husayn ibn Ali, Hussain
- emotionsjoy, anger, fear, sadness, love
- griefgrief, mourning, bereavement, sorrow, grieving
- emotional releasecry, venting, crying, sob, sobbing
- lamentswailing, keen, keening, moaning, groaning
lamentationrejoicing
Feeling or showing triumph
celebration · jubilation · exultation · cheering · revelry
lamentationpraise
Expression of approval
thanksgiving · gratitude · acceptance · approval · blessing