cry

Compared meaning: to cry, produce tears (verb).

比较义项：哭泣、流泪（动词）。

• cry 本词

  The plain, everyday word for producing tears and sad sounds; neutral in tone, with no built-in sense of loudness, quietness, or particular manner — fits almost any ordinary situation.

  最普通、日常的“哭”，指流泪并发出悲伤的声音；语气中性，不特别表示声音大小、安静与否或哭泣方式，几乎适用于任何一般情形。

  Newborn babies cry to tell their parents they are hungry or tired.

  新生儿哭是为了告诉父母自己饿了或累了。

• sob

  Emphasizes the physical manner of crying: noisy, broken breathing with gasps, often with shaking shoulders; usually describes sudden or intense emotion, and sounds informal and vivid.

  强调哭泣时的身体方式：呼吸断续、带着抽气声，常伴有肩膀颤抖；多用于形容突然或强烈的情绪，语气比较口语化、生动。

  She sobbed into her hands, her shoulders shaking as she gasped for breath.

  她双手捂脸啜泣，肩膀随着喘息不断颤抖。

• weep

  A more formal or literary word, often suggesting quiet, steadily flowing tears without loud noise; common in serious, solemn, or written contexts rather than casual speech.

  语气更正式、更书面化的词，常表示眼泪安静地持续流下，不带大声的哭声；多用于严肃、庄重或书面语境，而非日常口语。

  He stood at the grave and wept silently, tears rolling down his cheeks.

  他站在墓前默默哭泣，泪水顺着脸颊滑落。

• wail

  Describes loud, prolonged, high-pitched crying, as from a baby or someone in great pain or grief; much louder and more sustained than ordinary crying.

  指大声、持续、音调很高的哭泣，常见于婴儿或极度痛苦、悲伤的人；比一般的哭泣声音大得多、持续得多。

  The baby wailed for almost an hour, refusing to be comforted by anyone.

  那个婴儿恸哭了将近一个小时，谁都无法安抚他。

Cry, sob, weep, and wail all mean to produce tears. Cry is the plain, everyday word, fitting any situation. Sob means noisy, broken breathing while crying. Weep is more literary, meaning quiet, steady tears without noise. Wail means loud, high-pitched crying, as from pain.

这四个词在“流泪哭泣”这一义项上意思相近，但语气和哭泣方式不同：cry最普通中性，sob强调抽泣喘气的哭法，weep偏书面、安静，wail则指大声持续的哭声。这里不比较cry作“喊叫、呼喊”的意思，也不比较wail作名词“（警报器等的）长鸣声”的意思。

Compared meaning: to shout loudly (verb).

比较义项：大声喊叫、呼喊（动词）。

• cry 本词

  Cry in this sense is somewhat literary, typically used to report a short exclamation, often with a quoted remark, rather than describing ordinary loud talk or shouting at someone.

  呼喊义的cry用法偏书面语，通常用于转述简短的感叹语，常与引语连用，而不是描述普通的大声说话或对某人喊叫。

  "Wait for me!" cried Tom, running to catch the bus.

  “等等我！”汤姆边喊边跑去赶公交车。

• call

  Call means to raise one's voice to reach someone at a distance or get their attention, often naming the person or delivering a message; the tone is neutral, not necessarily angry or high-pitched.

  call表示提高音量以便让远处的人听见或引起其注意，常常是喊出某人的名字或传达一句话；语气中性，不一定带有愤怒或尖锐的音调。

  Mom called to us from the porch that dinner was ready.

  妈妈从门廊喊我们，说晚饭准备好了。

• yell

  Yell describes a very loud, harsh shout usually driven by anger, frustration, or urgency, and is often followed by “at” someone; it sounds more aggressive than the neutral call.

  yell描述一种非常响亮、刺耳的喊叫，通常由愤怒、沮丧或紧迫感引起，后面常接“at”（对……喊），听起来比中性的call更具攻击性。

  The coach yelled at the players for missing practice.

  教练因为球员们缺席训练而对他们大声吼骂。

• scream

  Scream is the highest-pitched and most involuntary of the four, typically triggered by sudden fear, pain, or intense excitement, and often has no particular listener.

  scream是这四个词中音调最高、最不受控制的一个，通常由突如其来的恐惧、疼痛或强烈的兴奋引发，往往并非说给特定的人听。

  She screamed when a spider dropped onto her arm.

  一只蜘蛛掉到她手臂上时，她尖叫起来。

Cry, call, yell, and scream all mean to shout loudly. Cry is literary, reporting a short exclamation. Call means raising one's voice to get someone's attention. Yell is a loud, harsh shout from anger. Scream is the highest-pitched, from sudden fear or pain.

这四个词在“大声喊叫”这个意义上比较接近，但语气和用法不同：yell偏愤怒，scream偏恐惧或疼痛且音调更高，call语气中性且指向某个听者，cry则偏书面语，常用于转述感叹语。这里不比较cry的“哭泣”义、call的“打电话”或“称呼、命名”义。

Compared meaning: a loud shout or cry (noun).

比较义项：呼喊、喊叫声（名词）。

• call

  A general word for a shout or vocal signal, often used to summon someone or get attention; milder and more neutral than shout or cry, common in phrases like 'a call for help'.

  泛指喊叫或呼唤声，常用于召唤某人或引起注意；语气比shout、cry都更平和中性，常见于“call for help”（呼救）这类搭配。

  She let out a call to the children to come in for dinner.

  她喊了一声，叫孩子们回来吃饭。

• shout

  Emphasizes loudness and the physical effort of raising the voice, often to be heard over distance, noise, or danger; more forceful and urgent than call.

  强调提高音量、用力喊叫的动作，常用于隔着距离或噪音、危险情况下让人听见；比call更用力、更急切。

  His shout of warning stopped her just before she stepped into traffic.

  他一声警告的喊叫，让她在踏入车流前及时停下。

• cry 本词

  A loud shout charged with strong emotion such as pain, fear, or surprise, rather than plain volume; often associated with babies or sudden distress.

  指带有强烈情绪（如疼痛、恐惧或惊讶）的喊叫声，而不只是音量大；常和婴儿或突发的痛苦联系在一起。

  A cry of pain came from the kitchen when she touched the hot pan.

  她碰到烫锅时，厨房里传来一声痛苦的叫喊。

• outcry

  A strong public protest or wave of angry objection from many people, not a single physical shout; formal register, common in news about controversial decisions.

  指许多人表达强烈不满或抗议的浪潮，而不是某一次具体的喊叫声；语体较正式，常出现在关于争议性决定的新闻报道中。

  The new tax sparked a nationwide outcry from small business owners.

  这项新税收在全国小企业主中引发了强烈抗议。

Call, shout, cry and outcry can all mean a loud shout, but tone differs. Call is neutral. Shout stresses loudness. Cry means a shout with strong emotion. Outcry means a strong public protest. Call also means 'phone'; cry also means 'weep', not compared.

这四个词都可表示“呼喊、喊叫声”，但语气强弱和使用场合不同：cry常带强烈情绪，outcry多指群体性的愤怒抗议而非具体的喊声；这里不比较call的“打电话”义、cry的“哭泣”义。