cry English
Verb
( en-verb)
To shed tears; to weep.
- That sad movie always makes me cry .
To utter loudly; to call out; to declare publicly.
* Shakespeare
- All, all, cry shame against ye, yet I'll speak.
* Bunyan
- The man ran on, crying , Life! life! Eternal life!
(ambitransitive) To shout, scream, yell.
* Bible, Matthew xxvii. 46
- And about the ninth hour, Jesus cried with a loud voice.
To utter inarticulate sounds, as animals do.
* Bible, Psalms cxlvii. 9
- the young ravens which cry
* Shakespeare
- In a cowslip's bell I lie / There I couch when owls do cry .
To cause to do something, or bring to some state, by crying or weeping.
- to cry oneself to sleep
To make oral and public proclamation of; to notify or advertise by outcry, especially things lost or found, goods to be sold, etc.
- to cry goods
* Crashaw
- Love is lost, and thus she cries him.
Hence, to publish the banns of, as for marriage.
* Judd
- I should not be surprised if they were cried in church next Sabbath.
Synonyms
* weep
* See also
* See also
Antonyms
* laugh
Derived terms
* crybaby
* cry in one's beer
* cry like a baby
* cry one's eyes out
* cry off
* cry out
* cry someone a river
* cry the blues
* cry wolf
* don't cry over spilt milk
* kiss and cry
Noun
( cries)
A shedding of tears; the act of crying.
- After we broke up, I retreated to my room for a good cry .
A shout or scream.
- I heard a cry from afar.
Words shouted or screamed.
- a battle cry
(collectively) A group of hounds.
* Shakespeare
- A cry more tunable / Was never hollaed to, nor cheered with horn.
- (Milton)
(obsolete, derogatory) A pack or company of people.
* Shakespeare
- Would not this get me a fellowship in a cry of players?
(ambitransitive, of an animal) A typical sound made by the species in question.
- "Woof" is the cry of a dog, while "neigh" is the cry of a horse.
A desperate or urgent request.
(obsolete) Common report; gossip.
* Shakespeare
- The cry goes that you shall marry her.
Derived terms
* battle cry
* hue and cry
* war cry
See also
* breastfeeding
* crocodile tears
References
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Statistics
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importune English
Verb
( importun)
To bother, trouble, irritate.
* , II.17:
- To deliberate, be it but in slight matters, doth importune me.
To harass with persistent requests.
* 1610 , , act 2 scene 1
- You were kneel'd to, and importun'd otherwise / By all of us;.
* Jonathan Swift
- Their ministers and residents here have perpetually importuned the court with unreasonable demands.
To approach to offer one's services as a prostitute, or otherwise make improper proposals.
(obsolete) To import; to signify.
* Spenser
- It importunes death.
Adjective
( en adjective)
(obsolete) Grievous, severe, exacting.
* 1590 , Edmund Spenser, The Faerie Queene , II.vi:
- And therewithall he fiercely at him flew, / And with importune outrage him assayld [...].
(obsolete) inopportune; unseasonable
(obsolete) troublesome; vexatious; persistent
* Spenser
- And their importune fates all satisfied.
* Francis Bacon
- Of all other affections it [envy] is the most importune and continual.
Related terms
* importunate
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