- sigh
- sigh vb Sigh, sob, moan, groan are comparable as verbs when they mean to emit a sound, commonly an inarticulate sound, indicative of mental or physical pain or distress and as nouns, such a sound.Sigh implies a deep audible respiration that is a usually involuntary expression of grief, intense longing, regret, discouragement, weariness, or boredom{
sigh no more, ladies, sigh no more, men were deceivers ever—Shak.
}{a sigh uttered from the fullness of the heart— Hazlitt
}{the stranger sometimes seemed to be under stress, sighed much and muttered inaudibly to himself— Malamud
}Sob implies a sound made by a convulsive catching of the breath when weeping or when both speaking and crying or when trying to restrain tears; the noun, however, more often refers solely to this sound than does the verb, which often implies accompanying tears and speech{"Ah!" It was a long, grieving sound, like a sigh—almost like a sob— Dickens
}{the mother . . . knelt by his side, and they prayed, and their joint sobs shook their bodies, but neither of them shed many tears— Meredith
}{she sobbed out her story
}{like a child sobbing itself to sleep
}Moan implies a low, prolonged, usually inarticulate sound, especially one that is indicative of intense suffering of mind or body{they are quick to hear the moans of immemorial grief— Blunden
}{Polly moaned, overwhelmed with retrospective shame and embarrassment— Huxley
}{to hear the piteous moan that Rutland made— Shak.
}The term, however, is often extended to sounds sugges-tive of pain, complaint, or murmuring{the moan of the wind
}{the moan of doves in immemorial elms— Tennyson
}{the rain and the wind splashed and gurgled and moaned round the house— Kipling
}Groan implies a heavier sound than moan and more often suggests an unbearable weight of suffering or a strong spirit of rebelliousness to pain or discomfort{thy groans did make wolves howl— Shak.
}{the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now— Rom 8:22
}Often however, in extended use the term carries no hint of suffering but implies noises made in strong disapproval or in pretended suffering{greet a speaker with groans
}or by something that moves or swings heavily{trees groaning in the wind
}{the door upon its hinges groans— Keats
}{the groan under the floorboard had changed to a screech— Wouk
}sigh n groan, moan, sob (see under SIGH vb)Analogous words: regret, *sorrow, grief
New Dictionary of Synonyms. 2014.
