Cry v. i. [imp. & p. p. Cried p. pr. & vb. n. Crying.]
1. To make a loud call or cry; to call or exclaim vehemently or earnestly; to shout; to vociferate; to proclaim; to pray; to implore.
And about the ninth hour, Jesus cried with a loud voice. -- Matt. xxvii. 46.
Clapping their hands, and crying with loud voice. --Shak.
Hear the voice of my supplications when I cry unto thee. -- Ps. xxviii. 2.
The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord. --Is. xl. 3.
Some cried after him to return. --Bunyan.
2. To utter lamentations; to lament audibly; to express pain, grief, or distress, by weeping and sobbing; to shed tears; to bawl, as a child.
Ye shall cry for sorrow of heart. --Is. lxv. 14.
I could find it in my heart to disgrace my man's apparel and to cry like a woman. --Shak.
3. To utter inarticulate sounds, as animals.
The young ravens which cry. --Ps. cxlvii. 9.
In a cowslip's bell I lie
There I couch when owls do cry. --Shak.
To cry on or To cry upon, to call upon the name of; to beseech. “No longer on Saint Denis will we cry.” --Shak.
To cry out. (a) To exclaim; to vociferate; to scream; to clamor. (b) To complain loudly; to lament.
To cry out against, to complain loudly of; to censure; to blame.
To cry out on or To cry out upon, to denounce; to censure. “Cries out upon abuses.” --Shak.
To cry to, to call on in prayer; to implore.
To cry you mercy, to beg your pardon. “I cry you mercy, madam; was it you?” --Shak.
Cry·ing, a. Calling for notice; compelling attention; notorious; heinous; as, a crying evil.
Too much fondness for meditative retirement is not the crying sin of our modern Christianity. --I. Taylor.
◄ ►
cry
n 1: a loud utterance; often in protest or opposition; "the
speaker was interrupted by loud cries from the rear of
the audience" [syn: outcry, call, yell, shout, vociferation]
2: a loud utterance of emotion (especially when inarticulate);
"a cry of rage"; "a yell of pain" [syn: yell]
3: a slogan used to rally support for a cause; "a cry to arms";
"our watchword will be `democracy'" [syn: war cry, rallying
cry, battle cry, watchword]
4: a fit of weeping; "had a good cry"
5: the characteristic utterance of an animal; "animal cries
filled the night"
v 1: utter a sudden loud cry; "she cried with pain when the
doctor inserted the needle"; "I yelled to her from the
window but she couldn't hear me" [syn: shout, shout
out, call, yell, scream, holler, hollo, squall]
2: shed tears because of sadness, rage, or pain; "She cried
bitterly when she heard the news of his death"; "The girl
in the wheelchair wept with frustration when she could not
get up the stairs" [syn: weep] [ant: laugh]
3: utter aloud; often with surprise, horror, or joy; "`I won!'
he exclaimed"; "`Help!' she cried"; "`I'm here,' the
mother shouted when she saw her child looking lost" [syn:
exclaim, cry out, outcry, call out, shout]
4: proclaim or announce in public; "before we had newspapers, a
town cryer would cry the news"; "He cried his merchandise
in the market square" [syn: blazon out]
5: demand immediate action; "This situation is crying for
attention"
6: utter a characteristic sound; "The cat was crying"
7: bring into a particular state by crying; "The little boy
cried himself to sleep"
[also: cried, cryings (pl), crying (pl)]
crying
adj 1: noisy with or as if with loud cries and shouts; "a crying
mass of rioters"; "a howling wind"; "shouting fans";
"the yelling fiend" [syn: howling, yelling, shouting]
2: demanding attention; "clamant needs"; "a crying need";
"regarded literary questions as exigent and momentous"-
H.L.Mencken; "insistent hunger"; "an instant need" [syn: clamant,
exigent, insistent, instant]
3: conspicuously and outrageously bad or reprehensible; "a
crying shame"; "an egregious lie"; "flagrant violation of
human rights"; "a glaring error"; "gross ineptitude";
"gross injustice"; "rank treachery" [syn: crying(a), egregious,
flagrant, glaring, gross, rank]
n : the process of shedding tears (usually accompanied by sobs
or other inarticulate sounds); "I hate to hear the crying
of a child"; "she was in tears" [syn: weeping, tears]