repine — English Dictionary

Verb

1. To complain; to regret; to fret.

   Usage

   • Intransitive
   • Literary

   Examples

   More examples (1)

   [VV]e are able with playne demonſtration to proue, and vvith reaſon to perſvvade that in tymes paſt our fayth vvas alike, that then vve preached thinges correſpondent vnto the forme of faith already published of vs, ſo that none in this behalfe can repyne or gaynesay vs.

   But many times we complaine, repine, and mutter without cauſe, wee giue way to paſſions, we may reſiſt and will not.

   More examples (4)

   O my gracious Lord, doe to me what seemeth good in thy own eyes; I am like clay in the hands of the potter, and what am I that I should repine against the acts of thy providence and dispensation? Behold O God, thy Handmaid is but a worm before thee; shall dust and ashes repine against God?

   Nor ſhall I count it hainous to enjoy / The public marks of honour and reward / Conferr'd upon me, for the piety / Which to my countrey I was judg'd to have ſhewn. / At this whoever envies or repines / I leave him to his lot, and like my own.

   Whoſo repines at ſeaſons and weather, and ſpeaks impatiently of times and events, repines and ſpeakth impatiently of God, who is the ſole Lord and Governor of times, ſeaſons, and events.

   What if the Foot, ordain'd the duſt to tread, / Or Hand, to toil, aſpir'd to be the Head? / What if the Head, the Eye, or Ear repin'd / To ſerve mere Engines to the ruling Mind?

   [N]o more need men on earth repine

   More examples (1)

   Beatrix invited me no more to tea but I did not greatly repine.

2. To long for (something) discontentedly; to pine.

   Usage

   • Intransitive
   • Literary
   • with for

   Examples

   Theſe ears, alas! for other notes repine, / A different object do theſe eyes require.

   But the oath supremacy was not refused, the worship of the church was frequented by multitudes who secretly repined for a change; […]

   More examples (3)

   Brother Jonathan, distressed is my spirit, / My heart is repining for thee!

   Yet oft do we repine / For the days of old, / For the days of gold— / For the days of Forty-Nine

   Each normal life repines for better life; […]

Noun

1. A repining.

   Usage

   • Archaic
   • Obsolete

   Examples

   More examples (3)

   Whose beams upon his hairless face are fix’d / As if from thence they borrowed all their shine. / Were never four such lamps together mix’d, / Had not his clouded with his brow’s repine; […]

   And ye, fair heaps, the Muses’ sacred shrines, / (In spite of time and envious repines) / Stand still and flourish till the world’s last day, / Upbraiding it with former love’s decay.

   It would, therefore, be criminal negligence did we not embrace this chance to proclaim broadcast, through such men as by their learning, their repines of judgment, their character and their works, will command general recognition and attention

Verb

1. express discontent

   Broader terms

   complainkickplainsound offquetchkvetch