Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun An impassioned outcry, as of entreaty or protest.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun An impassioned outcry, appeal, protest or entreaty.

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[French cri de cœur : cri, cry + de, of + cœur, heart.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

French meaning approximately "a cry from the heart"

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Examples

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Comments

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  • "Cry from the heart"; an ardent, impassioned declaration, appeal or lament.

    May 16, 2008

  • "No, before you say it, I can't go running back to Pater with yet another cri de coeur" (Mitchell, Cloud Atlas, 044.3).

    January 24, 2010