Complain, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Complained; p. pr. & vb. n. Complaining.]
Etymology: [F. complaindre, LL. complangere; com- + L. plangere to strike, beat, to beat the breast or head as a sign of grief, to lament. See Plaint.]
1. To give utterance to expression of grief, pain, censure, regret. etc.; to lament; to murmur; to find fault; -- commonly used with of. Also, to creak or squeak, as a timber or wheel. O lose of sight, of three I most complain! Milton.
2. To make a formal accusation; to make a charge. Now, Master Shallow, you'll complain of me to the king Shak.
Syn. -- To repine; grumble; deplore; bewail; grieve; mourn; regret; murmur.
1 other Webster entry under this spelling
Complain, v. t.
To lament; to bewail. [Obs.] They might the grievance inwardly complain. Daniel. By chaste Lucrece's soul that late complain'd Her wrongs to us. Shak.
Shades of meaning
To complain is to give utterance to dissatisfaction or objection, express a sense of wrong or ill treatment. One complains of a real or assumed grievance; he may murmur through mere peevishness or ill temper; he repines, with vain distress, at the irrevocable or the inevitable. Complaining is by speech or writing; murmuring is commonly said of half-repressed utterance; repining of the mental act alone. One may complain of an offense to the offender or to others; he remonstrates with the offender only. Complain has a formal and legal meaning, which the other words have not, signifying to make a formal accusation, present a specific charge; the same is true of the noun complaint.
Prepositions
Complain of a thing to a person; of one person to another, of or against a person for an act; to an officer; before the court; about a thing.