complained
- 1Simple past and past participle of complain.
Residents complained to the city about the broken streetlights.
He had complained for weeks before anyone finally listened.
Note
One regular -ed spelling does double duty: the simple past (she complained) and the participle after have (they had complained for weeks). The verb is intransitive, so it takes no direct object. The listener and the grievance come in by preposition (to the council, about the noise), which is why a passive like "was complained" does not work. The same form also carries the verb's mechanical sense: the old wheel complained under the load.
complained is a form of complain
complain, verb: To voice feelings of pain, dissatisfaction, or resentment about something. Full entry
- Forms
- complaincomplains he/she/itcomplaining -ing formcomplained past tense, past participle
- Spelling
- complain → complained: add -ed
- Sound
- The ending sounds like /d/.
Use it in a sentence
Write your own sentence with complained, and AI will tell you whether it fits and which meaning you used.