“Wails” or “Whales”—Which to use?

“Wails” or “Whales”

Overview

wails / whales 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

wails: (verb) cry weakly or softly.

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

Pronunciation

wails: w·EY·l·z

whales: w·EY·l·z

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Examples in Context

Examples of “wails”

Along with his characteristic wails and croons, he exhibited a…
…had more substance than adolescent wails on how love will save…
…using shouts, groans, moans, and wails.
…from seductive whispers to banshee wails".
…oscillate between stoicism and crushing wails."

Examples of “whales”

…more gradual settlement of fewer whales and using more subsistence strategies…
…would use umiaks and kill whales in narrow ice leads as…
…Atlantic in search of sperm whales.
…move, followed groups of bowhead whales, which were an important source…
…whale for survival because bowhead whales swim slowly and sleep near…
…Whale's remake of Marius and Fanny.
…European contact in areas where whales were not as prevalent so…
Children of the Whales, Urumi, Nibi (young), Cocaro
…oceans populated only by albatross, whales and ice, with no shipping…
Sperm whales (Physeter macrocephalus)

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

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