1[intransitiveI, transitiveT]COMPLAIN to say that you are annoyed, not satisfied, or unhappy about something or someone 抱怨;不满;发牢骚 → complaint
Residents are complaining because traffic in the area has increased.
由于这个地区的交通流量有所增加,居民都在抱怨。
‘You never ask my opinion about anything, ’ Rod complained.
“你什么事都不问问我的看法。”罗德抱怨道。
complain (that)
She complained that no one had been at the airport to meet her.
她抱怨说没人到机场去接她。
complain about
She often complains about not feeling appreciated at work.
她常抱怨工作上不受赏识。
complain of
Several women have complained of sexual harassment.
好几位女性投诉说受到性骚扰。
complain to
Neighbours complained to the police about the dogs barking.
邻居向警方投诉狗吠扰民。
Employees complained bitterly about working conditions.
雇员们对工作条件十分不满。
nGrammar
You complain about something or someone:
They complained about the service.
✗Don’t say: They complained against the service. | They complained for the service.
2(I/you/he etc) can’t complainspokenSATISFIED used to say that a situation is satisfactory, even though there may be a few problems (我/你/他等)还算满意,没什么可抱怨的
I make a good living. I can’t complain.
我过得还不错,没什么可抱怨的。
3complain of somethingphrasal verbphr v formalMIHAVEto say that you feel ill or have a pain in a part of your body 诉说有…病痛
Dan’s been complaining of severe headaches.
丹总是说头疼得厉害。
nCOLLOCATIONS
adverbs
complain bitterly (=in a very angry way)
My grandfather’s always complaining bitterly about how expensive things are.
complain loudly
The kids were complaining loudly about the heat.
constantly complain
She was constantly complaining about her job.
phrases
have the right to complain
You have the right to complain if you’re not satisfied with the service you’re getting.
have (good) reason to complain
We felt we had good reason to complain about the food at the hotel.
have little/no reason to complain
The school is good and parents have little reason to complain.
have cause to complain
Patients sometimes have cause to complain about the hospital treatment they receive.
be in a position to complain (=have a good reason to complain)
If you feel you are bullied at work, you are certainly in a position to complain.
be the first to complain (=be quick to complain)
He’s the first to complain if he thinks something is unfair.
THESAURUS
complain to say that you are annoyed, unhappy, or not satisfied about something or someone 抱怨,发牢骚
Several customers complained about the service they received.
有几位顾客对得到的服务表示不满。
n‘I wish you’d stop telling me what to do, ’ she complained.
make a complaint to formally complain about something to someone in authority 提出投诉
His parents made a complaint to the head teacher.
他的父母向校长提出投诉。
protest to complain about something that you think is wrong, especially publicly 〔尤指公开地〕抗议
grumble to keep complaining in a bad-tempered way about something 〔气愤地〕抱怨
Rail travellers have been grumbling about the increase in ticket prices.
铁路乘客抱怨票价上涨。
nWhat’s he grumbling about now?
moan/whine informal (also whinge /wɪndʒ/British EnglishBrE informal) to keep complaining in an annoying way 〔生气地〕抱怨,发牢骚
Everyone was moaning about the hotel food.
大家都在抱怨酒店饮食不好。
Stop whingeing and get on with your work!
别发牢骚了,接着干活吧!
kick up/make a fuss to complain or become angry about something, especially something that is not very important 小题大做
The soup wasn’t hot enough, but he didn’t want to make a fuss.
汤不够热,但是他也不想小题大做。
nHe kicked up such a fuss that they were offered another room.
Examples from the Corpus
complain• Many were calling the centraloffice to complain.• We had to remove the advertisement because so many people complained.• But you won't catch me complaining.• He constantly complains about how he's treated at work.• I should have complained about the first case, but I was inexperienced then.• Their neighbourscomplained about their constantloudmusic.• Workers who had lost their jobs complained bitterly about the way they had been treated.• Denise complained bitterly after he died.• Once at her new work place she complained bitterly of how her style had been cramped.• Jenny's always complaining that her boss gives her too much work.• The patientcomplained that she had to void more urine.• If the hotel isn't satisfactory, you should complain to the Tourist Office.• This was a worker who showed up every day, never complained, you know, gave the job his all.
complained bitterly• The boysgasped, wheezed and giggled; the plumper ones complained bitterly.• The social worker complained bitterly about the fact that Mrs X had left the home, and told her off.• He complained bitterly after being surprised by Pat Buchanan in an early primary about a pollster whose predictions had been too optimistic.• Denise complained bitterly after he died.• Once at her new work place she complained bitterly of how her style had been cramped.• He complained bitterly of the small attention that was paid to his ideas in his own country.• Norah complained bitterly that her style had brought the company freepublicityworthfar more than it cost.• We all complained bitterly when it looked as though Adobe was restricting the development of PostScript and keeping the market to itself.
Origincomplain
(1300-1400)Old Frenchcomplaindre, from Vulgar Latincomplangere, from Latincom- ( → COM-) + plangere (PLAINT)