com·plain

verb

/kəmˈpleɪn/

[intransitive, transitive]

Verb Forms

present simple I / you / we / they complain	/kəmˈpleɪn/ /kəmˈpleɪn/
he / she / it complains	/kəmˈpleɪnz/ /kəmˈpleɪnz/
past simple complained	/kəmˈpleɪnd/ /kəmˈpleɪnd/
past participle complained	/kəmˈpleɪnd/ /kəmˈpleɪnd/
-ing form complaining	/kəmˈpleɪnɪŋ/ /kəmˈpleɪnɪŋ/

Phrasal Verbs

to say that you are annoyed, unhappy or not satisfied about somebody/something抱怨；埋怨；投诉；发牢骚
- She never complains, but she's obviously exhausted.她虽然从不抱怨，但显然已疲惫不堪。
- (informal) ‘How are you?’ ‘Oh, I can't complain (= I'm all right).’“你好吗？”“啊，没的抱怨的。”
- complain to somebody Annoyed residents have complained to the police.愤怒的居民已向警方投诉。
- complain about something Shoppers complained about the lack of toilet facilities.购物者抱怨缺乏厕所设施。
- complain to somebody about something I'm going to complain to the manager about this.我要就这件事向经理投诉。
- complain of something The defendant complained of intimidation during the investigation.被告申诉在调查期间受到了恐吓。
- complain at something She complained at the unfairness of it all.她抗议所有这一切的不公平。
- complain (that)… He complained bitterly that he had been unfairly treated.他愤懑地说他受到了不公平的对待。
- + speech ‘It's not fair,’ she complained.“这不公平。”她抱怨道。
Synonyms complain
complainprotest ▪ object ▪ grumble ▪ moan ▪ whineThese words all mean to say that you are annoyed, unhappy or not satisfied about somebody/something.
complain to say that you are annoyed, unhappy or not satisfied about somebody/something:
I’m going to complain to the manager about this.我要就这件事向经理投诉。
protest to say or do something to show that you disagree with something or think it is bad, especially publicly; to give something as a reason for protesting:
Students took to the streets to protest against the decision.学生们走上街头，抗议这项决定。
object to say that you disagree with something or think it is bad; to give something as a reason for objecting:
If nobody objects, we’ll postpone the meeting till next week.如果没有人反对，我们就把会议推迟到下周。
He objected that the police had arrested him without sufficient evidence.他抗辩说警察没有充分的证据就逮捕了他。
grumble (rather informal, disapproving) to complain about somebody/something, especially something that is not really very serious:
They kept grumbling that they were cold.他们不停地嘟囔着说冷。
moan (British English, rather informal, disapproving) to complain about somebody/something in an annoying way:
What are you moaning about now?你在嘟囔些什么？
whine (rather informal, disapproving) to complain in an annoying, crying voice:
Stop whining!别哭哭啼啼的！
‘I want to go home,’ whined Toby.“我要回家。”托比哭嚷道。
Whine is often used to talk about the way that young children complain.
Patterns
- to complain/protest/grumble/moan/whine about something
- to complain/protest/grumble/moan at something
- to complain/protest/object/grumble/moan/whine to somebody
- to complain/protest/object/grumble/moan/whine that…
Extra Examples
- All the guests complained about the noise.所有的客人都抱怨这些噪声。
- He really has no right to complain.他实在无权抱怨。
- I'm going to complain to the authorities about this!我要向当局投诉这件事！
- It was entirely my own idea, so I can hardly complain.这完全是我自己的主意，所以不能抱怨什么。
- She complained bitterly about the lack of help she received.她对自己没有得到帮助而愤愤地抱怨。
Topics Feelingsa2
Oxford Collocations Dictionary
adverb
- bitterly
- loudly
- constantly
- …
verb + complain
- cannot
- can hardly
- have cause to
- …
preposition
- about
- at
- to
- …
Word Originlate Middle English: from Old French complaindre, from medieval Latin complangere ‘bewail’, from Latin com- (expressing intensive force) + plangere ‘to lament’.