complaining

complaining — noun

1. the activity of telling other people, often repeatedly, that you are unhappy wit

1.nounB1
Definition

the activity of telling other people, often repeatedly, that you are unhappy with something — for example with the food, the weather, or how someone has treated you.

Example

Gabriel was tired of his roommate's constant complaining about the dirty kitchen.

constant / endless + complaining + about (topic)

All this complaining will not get the broken heater fixed any faster.

complaining as subject of verb

Common collocations
  • constant complaining
  • endless complaining
  • a lot of complaining
  • stop complaining
  • tired of complaining
Synonyms
  • moaning

    informal British English; suggests grumbling more than serious objection

  • grumbling

    low-level, half-hearted complaining, often muttered

  • whining

    negative; suggests a childish, irritating tone

Antonyms
  • praising

    saying what is good about something

  • acceptance

    going along with a situation without protest

Usage Note

Uncountable: do not say 'a complaining' or 'complainings'. Often modified by 'constant', 'endless', 'a lot of', and pairs with the prepositions 'about' (the topic) and 'to' (the listener).

Common Mistakes

She made many complainings to her boss.
She made many complaints to her boss.
for separate, countable acts of complaint, use the noun 'complaint'; 'complaining' names the activity in general.

complaining — adjective

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

All four refer to expressing unhappiness, but they differ in tone and register. 'Complaining' is the most neutral and formal of the group: you can complain to a manager, to customer service, or in a serious letter, and the word does not necessarily judge the speaker. 'Moaning' is informal and especially common in British English; it suggests low-stakes grumbling about everyday annoyances and often hints that the listener is bored of hearing it. 'Grumbling' describes muttered, half-hearted protest under one's breath, often without expecting anything to change. 'Whining' is the most negative: it pictures a high-pitched, childish, irritating tone, as a child might use to ask for sweets. Compare: 'I sent a complaining email to the airline' (serious), 'Stop moaning about the rain' (mild irritation), 'He kept grumbling about his back' (muttered), 'She is whining for ice cream again' (childish).

complaining ↗moaning ↗grumblingwhining ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

Adverbs

Phrases

  • constant complaining
  • stop complaining
  • tired of complaining

Prepositions

  • about (something)
  • to (someone)
  • of (something)

Etymology

LatinVulgar LatinOld FrenchMiddle EnglishModern English

Both the noun and adjective are present-participle forms of the verb 'complain', plus the ending '-ing'. The verb 'complain' came into Middle English from Old French 'complaindre', from Vulgar Latin 'complangere', built on Latin 'plangere' meaning 'to beat the breast' or 'to lament'. The original Latin sense pictured a person striking their chest in grief; the modern English meaning has cooled into the everyday act of saying something is wrong.