3 uses
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Definition
expressing sadness — sometimes with a plea for help
- Three short series of verses have always attracted me,—the one that heads this chapter, of one line of which Thomas Wentworth Higginson has fittingly said, "Never, it seems to me, since man first lived and suffered was his infinite longing for peace uttered more plaintively."Chapter 14 (77% in)
- With one wild carnival of blood and passion came the message in his own plaintive cadences:— "Shout, O children!Chapter 1 (44% in)
- The Music of Negro religion is that plaintive rhythmic melody, with its touching minor cadences, which, despite caricature and defilement, still remains the most original and beautiful expression of human life and longing yet born on American soil.Chapter 10 (10% in)
There are no more uses of "plaintive" in The Souls of Black Folk.
Typical Usage
(best examples)