complain
/kəmˈpleɪn/
complain verb: to express feelings of pain, dissatisfaction, or resentment.
Verb
complain (third-person singular simple present complains, present participle complaining, simple past and past participle complained)
- To express feelings of pain, dissatisfaction, or resentment.
- Joe was always complaining about the noise made by his neighbours.
- O loſs of ſight, of thee I moſt complain!1671, John Milton, “Samson Agonistes, […].”, in Paradise Regain’d. A Poem. In IV Books. To which is Added, Samson Agonistes, London: […] J[ohn] M[acock] for John Starkey […], →OCLC, page 12, line 67
- To state the presence of something negative; to indicate that one is suffering from something; to report (e.g.) a symptom.
- The patient complained of headache, nausea, and joint pain.
- To make a formal accusation or bring a formal charge.
- They've complained about me to the police again.
- Now, Master Shallow, you'll complain of me to the king?c. 1597 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Merry Wiues of Windsor”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward]...
- To creak or squeak, as a timber or wheel.
- the complaining bed-springs
complain meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Urdu and Bengali
complain in Hindi
- to express feelings of pain, dissatisfaction, or resentment
- शिकायत करना śikāyat karnā
complain in Tamil
- குறை கூறு, குறை தெரிவி, குற்றமுரை, முறையிடு
complain in Urdu
- گلہ کرنا, پکارنا, شکایت کرنا
complain in Bengali
- অভিযোগ করা
More languagesFewer languages
- complain in Telugu
- ఏడుచు ēḍucu
- complain in Malayalam
- പരാതിപ്പെടുക parātippeṭuka
- complain in Kannada
- ಮೊರೆಯಿಡು, ಗೊಣಗು, ದೂರು, ಆಕ್ಷೇಪಿಸು
- complain in Punjabi
- ਝੁਰਨਾ jhurnā
- complain in Sanskrit
- गर्ह् garh
- complain in Arabic
- تَذَمَّرَ taḏammara, اِشْتَكَى ištakā, شَكَا šakā
- complain in Malay
- adu
- complain in Indonesian
- adu, merajuk, mengeluh
- complain in Thai
- บ่น bòn, ร้องเรียน rɔ́ɔng-riian
- complain in Vietnamese
- phàn nàn, thưa kiện
Examples of complain in a sentence
- He was all bent over complaining of pains in the abdomen.
- The neighbor's dog barking throughout the night is a right nuisance - I'm going to complain.
- It's disgraceful the way that they've treated you. I would write and complain.
Synonyms of complain
30 more synonymsFewer synonyms
Forms of complain
| third-person singular present | complains |
|---|---|
| present participle | complaining |
| past participle | complained |
| past | complained |
Origin of complain
From Middle English complaynen, from Old French complaindre, from Medieval Latin complangere (“to bewail, complain”), from Latin com- (“together”) + plangere (“to strike, beat, as the breast in extreme grief, bewail”); see plain, plaint.
Words formed from complain
Phrases with complain
Words that rhyme with complain
48 more rhymesFewer rhymes
- drain
- pane
- gain
- main
- sustain
- vein
- entertain
- skein
- Wayne
- abstain
- bane
- campaign
- champagne
- crane
- entrain
- fain
- insane
- maine
- pain
- plane
- stain
- wane
- Aquitaine
- ascertain
- chicane
- contain
- detain
- explain
- maintain
- mundane
- obtain
- refrain
- remain
- vane
- amain
- arcane
- Blaine
- deign
- detrain
- distrain
- kane
- ordain
- pertain
- profane
- public domain
- reign
- swain
- terrain
Questions about complain
- What does complain mean?
- Complain means to express feelings of pain, dissatisfaction, or resentment.
- What is complain in Hindi?
- Complain in Hindi is शिकायत करना (śikāyat karnā). See Complain meaning in Hindi.
- What part of speech is complain?
- Complain is a verb.
- How do you pronounce complain?
- Complain is pronounced /kəmˈpleɪn/.
- What is the past tense of complain?
- The past tense of complain is complained.
Words near complain in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: complain (page history and authors); complain (Tamil Wiktionary) (page history and authors); complain (Urdu Wiktionary) (page history and authors); complain (Bengali Wiktionary) (page history and authors); ఏడుచు (Telugu) (page history and authors); complain (Kannada Wiktionary) (page history and authors); ਝੁਰਨਾ (Punjabi) (page history and authors); गर्ह् (Sanskrit) (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: en-us-complain.ogg.
Cite this entry: “complain.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/complain. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.