moaning moa·ning US/ˈmoʊnɪŋ/ common adjective 1. making low inarticulate sound as e.g. of pain or sorrow “the groaning wounded” “moaning sounds in her sleep” Synonymsgroaning Similarinarticulate WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved.