Word · Frequency #9985
wail
哀号；恸哭；痛哭
a long, high-pitched cry of pain or grief
- 1.
A prolonged cry, usually high-pitched, especially as of grief or anguish.
长时间的哭喊,通常音调很高,尤指因悲痛或痛苦。
- 2.
a cry of sorrow and grief
悲伤的哭喊
- 3.
Any similar sound as of lamentation; a howl.
类似哀叹的声音；嚎叫。
- 4.
A sound made by emergency vehicle sirens, contrasted with "yelp" which is higher-pitched and faster.
急救车警报器发出的声音,与“yelp”相对,后者音调更高、节奏更快。
呼啸声；尖啸声；（警报器等的）哀鸣声；长时间的哭喊,通常音调很高,尤指因悲痛或痛苦。；悲伤的哭喊；类似哀叹的声音；嚎叫。；急救车警报器发出的声音,与“yelp”相对,后者音调更高、节奏更快。
In use
A loud wail came from the child who had fallen and scraped her knee.
The mournful wail of the bagpipes filled the valley.
We could hear the siren's wail long before the ambulance appeared.
a wail of + noun
wail后常接表示情感的抽象名词，如grief, pain等。
A wail of despair rose from the crowd.
人群中响起绝望的哀号。
let out a wail
口语中常用，表示突然发出的哭声。
The child let out a loud wail when he dropped his ice cream.
孩子弄掉了冰淇淋，发出了响亮的哭声。
hear a wail
wail也可指类似哭声的尖锐声音，如警报、风声。
Connections
Collocations
- a wail of grief
- 悲痛的嚎啕大哭
- The family let out a wail of grief when they heard the terrible news.当家人听到这个可怕的消息时，他们发出悲痛的嚎啕大哭。
- a wail of despair
- 绝望的哀号
- A wail of despair rose from the crowd as the ship disappeared.当船沉没时，人群中响起绝望的哀号。
- a wail of pain
- 疼痛的嚎叫
- The injured dog gave a wail of pain.受伤的狗发出疼痛的嚎叫。
- a wail of sirens
- 警报器的尖啸声
- The night was filled with the wail of sirens.夜晚充满了警报器的尖啸声。
Learner notes
Memory Tip
wail 与“歪”音近：想象悲伤的人歪着嘴发出长长的哭喊，声调又高又久——wail。
Context & Register
语域：neutral 常见场景：文学/叙事作品、新闻报道（灾难或悲痛场景）、正式演讲或书面语 wail 作名词表示“长时间的尖声哭喊”时，语气比较中性，但多用于书面或正式语境，例如文学作品和新闻报道；日常口语中更常说 cry 或 scream。该词突出声音的持续、高亢以及强烈的悲痛或痛苦情绪。
Grammar Note
常后接介词 of 表示哭喊的原因
Pronunciation & Spelling
这些词都与 wail（/weɪl/）押韵，发音均为 /eɪl/：hail, pail, sail, tail, fail, mail。注意形近词 aisle（/aɪl/）发音不同。
Usage priority
Collins 词频等级为 1，建议结合例句记忆，而不是只背中文释义。
Learn the forms together
页面下方列出了常见词形变化。学习时注意它们在句子中的语法位置。
Dictionary facts from AI_FALLBACK, ECDICT, WIKTIONARY, WORDNET.