only 1 use
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Definition
expressing sadness — sometimes with a plea for help
- Break off the tiny fingers, bend the flat feet, loosen the hair, twist the head around, and the thing made one sound—a sound they said was the sweet and plaintive cry "Mama," but which sounded to me like the bleat of a dying lamb, or, more precisely, our icebox door opening on rusty hinges in July.2 — Autumn (24% in)
There are no more uses of "plaintive" in The Bluest Eye.
Typical Usage
(best examples)