weep
- 01 B2 Upper Intermediate
v.to cry, usually because you feel a very strong emotion like sadness or great joy.
v.to shed tears as an expression of intense emotion, often accompanied by sobbing. Intransitive or transitive when taking a cognate object like 'tears'.
Simple“The old man began to weep when he saw his daughter after twenty years.”
In context“She sat by the window and wept silently, overwhelmed by a profound sense of loss that words could not adequately capture.”
- 02 C1 Advanced
v.to slowly produce or leak a small amount of liquid.
v.to exude or discharge moisture or fluid in small quantities. Often used in medical contexts regarding wounds or in engineering regarding condensation.
Simple“The cut on his knee started to weep a little, so he put a clean bandage on it.”
In context“The physician noted that the surgical incision had begun to weep a clear serous fluid, indicating the early stages of a localized inflammatory response.”
- 03 C2 Proficiency
v.to have branches that hang down toward the ground.
v.to have branches that hang or droop toward the ground, characteristic of certain tree varieties.
Simple“The willow trees weep over the river, their long branches touching the water.”
In context“The ancient willow seemed to weep over the stagnant pond, its pendulous branches creating a curtain of green that obscured the far bank.”
Synonyms - 04 B2 Upper Intermediate
n.a period of time spent crying.
n.an instance or spell of crying. Usually used with the verb 'have'.
Simple“Sometimes you just need to have a good weep to feel better.”
In context“After receiving the news, she retreated to her room for a long weep, emerging only when she felt composed enough to speak.”
From Middle English wepen, from Old English wēpan (“to weep, complain, bewail, mourn over, deplore”), from Proto-West Germanic wōpijan, from Proto-Germanic wōpijaną (“to weep”), from Proto-Indo-European *weh₂b- (“to call, cry, complain”). Cognate with Scots weep (“to weep”), Saterland Frisian wapia (“to cry, complain”), Icelandic æpa (“to yell, shout”), Proto-Slavic *vъpiti (“to weep”).
Imitative of its cry.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.