blood·cur·dling

[bluhd-kurd-ling, -kur-dl-ing]
adjective
arousing terror; horrifying: a bloodcurdling scream.

Origin:
1930–35; blood + curdle + -ing2

blood·cur·dling·ly, adverb
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Collins
World English Dictionary
bloodcurdling (ˈblʌdˌkɜːdlɪŋ) [Click for IPA pronunciation guide]
 
adj
terrifying; horrifying
 
'bloodcurdlingly
 
adv

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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00:10
Bloodcurdling is always a great word to know.
So is doohickey. Does it mean:
a chattering or flighty, light-headed person.
a gadget; dingus; thingumbob.
Etymonline
Word Origin & History

bloodcurdling
1889, bloodcurdler "incident which freezes the blood," especially "sensational story," slang, from blood + curdle. Also in use in this sense was blood-freezer (1886).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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Example sentences
Children often wake up with a bloodcurdling scream, agitated, and with hearts racing.
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