“Wail” or “Whale”—Which to use?

“Wail” or “Whale”

Overview

wail / 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.

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

whale: w·EY·l

Trends

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Examples in Context

Examples of “wail”

Remembering the haunting wail of the train whistle rumbling…

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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