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“Wail” or “Wale” or “Whale”

Overview

wail / wale / whale are similar-sounding terms with different meanings (referred to as homophones). To better understand the differences, see below for definitions, pronunciation guides, and example sentences using each term. 👇

Definitions

wail: (verb) cry weakly or softly.

wale: (noun) a raised mark on the skin (as produced by the blow of a whip); characteristic of many allergic reactions. (noun) thick plank forming a ridge along the side of a wooden ship.

whale: (noun) any of the larger cetacean mammals having a streamlined body and breathing through a blowhole on the head. (verb) hunt for whales.

Pronunciation

wail: w·EY·l

wale: w·EY·l

whale: w·EY·l

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Examples in Context

Examples of “wail”

  • Remembering the haunting wail of the train whistle rumbling

Examples of “wale”

  • Wale, Tyga, Mack Maine and Kirko
  • features Wale, Big Sean, and Bun B.
  • seen in 2006's hit Mehndi Wale Hath, where she played the
  • Artists Iggy Azalea, KT Tunstall, Wale, Sukhwinder Singh, Raghav Mathur have
  • his collaboration with the rapper Wale, Rahman stated that he was

Examples of “whale”

  • of harpoon points out of whale bone.
  • the oil of a sperm whale, to rigid specifications.
  • 16th century, umiak and kayak whale hunting had ceased in the
  • , a French whaler launched at Philadelphia that after
  • for the buildings came from whale bones.
  • relied heavily on the bowhead whale for survival because bowhead whales
  • soared free like a great whale gliding through the sea of
  • Their houses were made of whale bones from summer hunts.
  • mid-Atlantic, her target: the Norwegian Whale ship N.T.
  • Kujira (鯨, くじら, クジラ): Whale


(Examples are Wikipedia snippets under the CC ShareAlike 3.0 license. Definitions drawn from WordNet.)


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