Word Confusion: Whinny versus Whiny

Posted March 9, 2015 by Kathy Davie in Author Resources, Self-Editing, Word Confusions, Writing

Revised as of
14 Oct 2022

I’ll take a whinny over a whiny any day. Whether it’s a child or a nagging person, I’d much rather listen to a horse. I’ll bet you’d rather listen to a horse’s whinny over me whining on about what irritates me about authors’ spelling habits, or what I’m whinging on about in a book someone wrote . . . *grin* . . .

I have occasionally read of a person who has a laugh that sounds like a whinny. It’s an excellent use of adjective to project the sense of a cringing, fawning, or handwashing sort of person. Someone who’s either too timid for words *gag*, is sucking up to others, or one who’s hiding his (or her) evil light beneath a camouflage that includes a braying laugh.

Word Confusions . . .

. . . started as my way of dealing with a professional frustration with properly spelled words that were out of context in manuscripts I was editing as well as books I was reviewing. It evolved into a sharing of information with y’all. I’m hoping you’ll share with us words that have been a bête noire for you from either end. Consider sharing this Word Confusion with friends by tweeting it.

Whinny	Whiny
Show Halter is Ealdgyth’s own work under the CC-BY-SA-3.0 or GFDL license, via Wikimedia Commons. Audio recorded by GoodListener and courtesy of FreeSound.org. — A horse’s whinny catches me every time.	Child Angry at Dental Treatment is Sterilgutassistentin’s own work under the GPL license, via Wikimedia Commons. “Baby Crying HQ” recorded by Panikko and courtesy of FreeSound.org. — Oh no, a whiny baby.
Part of Grammar:
Noun ¹; Verb ², intransitive & transitive Plural for the noun: whinnies Gerund: whinnying Third person present verb: whinnies Past tense or past participle: whinnied Present participle: whinnying	Adjective Alternative spelling: whiney
Noun: Gentle, high-pitched neigh ¹ A whinnying sound Verb, intransitive: To neigh, especially in a low or gentle way ² Verb, transitive: To utter with, or as if with, a whinny ²	Long, high-pitched, complaining cry Complaining tone of voice [British] Whinge
Examples:
Noun: We heard a whinny in the distance. That poor horse’s whinnies became increasingly weak. Flicka gave a soft whinny when she saw Annabelle. I knew it was a whinny of delight as Blackie pranced up to the fence for her carrot. Verb, intransitive: The pony whinnied and tossed his head happily. Geez, Mabel whinnied like a horse in heat when she laughed. I heard the horse whinnying. Verb, transitive: Your son is in the living room, whinnying and bucking while your granddaughter rides him. She gave another high-pitched whinny and posed beside him.	She had a whiny voice. Someone needs a nap ’cause they’re getting whiny. God, woman, must you be whinging on all the time?
Derivatives:
	Adjective: whining, unwhining Comparative Adjectives: whinier, whiniest Adverb: unwhiningly, whiningly Noun: whine, whiner, whininess Verb: whine, whined, whining
History of the Word:
From the early 19th century. Late Middle English: imitative.	1850–55: whine + -y evolved from the 1520-30 whine and ultimately imitative; compare to the Latin hinnire.

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C’mon, get it out of your system, bitch, whine, moan . . . which words are your pet peeves? Also, please note that I try to be as accurate as I can, but mistakes happen or I miss something. Email me if you find errors, so I can fix them . . . and we’ll all benefit!

Satisfy your curiosity about other Word Confusions on its homepage or more generally explore the index of self-editing posts. You may also want to explore Book Layout & Formatting Ideas, Formatting Tips, Grammar Explanations, Linguistics, Publishing Tips, the Properly Punctuated, Writing Ideas and Resources, and Working Your Website.

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