ESEN
Which one to use?Intermediateverb / nounnoun
WailvsWhale
'Wail' is a prolonged loud cry of grief or pain; 'whale' is the large marine mammal.
Side-by-side comparison
Wail
verb / noun"Wail" is a prolonged, high-pitched cry of grief, pain, or distress. Emergency sirens also wail. "She let out a wail" = she gave a loud cry of anguish.
The child let out a wail when she dropped her ice cream cone on the pavement.
The ambulance siren wailed through the night as it sped to the scene.
She could hear the wail of bagpipes in the distance during the funeral procession.
Whale
noun"Whale" is the largest marine mammal. "Blue whale" = the biggest animal on Earth. "Humpback whale" = the singing species. Informally, "a whale of a time" = a wonderfully good time.
The blue whale is the largest animal known to have ever lived on Earth.
Humpback whales are known for their complex and haunting songs.
They booked a whale-watching tour off the coast of Iceland.
Common mistake
- •"The baby let out a whale" when meaning the cry is wrong (correct: wail).
- •And "They spotted a wail off the coast" when meaning the marine mammal is wrong (correct: whale).
Trick to remember it
- •"Wail" has no H, short and immediate, like a sharp cry.
- •"Whale" has silent H and LE, bigger and longer, like the animal itself.
Quick rule
Is it the cry of pain or grief? "Wail." Is it the marine mammal? "Whale."
Did you know?
The blue whale is the largest animal in Earth's documented history, larger than any known dinosaur. Its heart can weigh up to 180 kg (like a small car) and its vocalizations, traveling underwater, can be heard up to 800 km away. The "Wailing Wall" in Jerusalem is so named because Jews gathered there to mourn and wail for the destruction of the Temple. WAIL and WAILING share the same Germanic root of lamentation. Some whales were hunted nearly to extinction during 20th-century commercial whaling, the blue whale population dropped by roughly 99%.
Practise what you learned
Exercise 1 · Pick the right one
The baby let out a loud _____ when the toy was taken away.
Exercise 2 · Pick the right one
They saw a huge _____ breach the surface of the water during the boat tour.
Exercise 3 · Form the word
Related word pairs
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One means to receive or agree to something, the other means to exclude or not include.
AdvicevsAdvise
'Advice' is the guidance you receive (noun); 'advise' is the act of giving that guidance (verb).
AffectvsEffect
'Affect' is the verb meaning to influence something; 'effect' is the noun meaning result or consequence.
AislevsIsle
'Aisle' is the walkway between rows of seats or shelves; 'isle' is a small island.
Bryan López
Founder of SpeakUP Academy