shriek
a loud, sharp, shrill cry.
a loud, high sound of laughter.
any loud, shrill sound, as of a whistle.
to utter a loud, sharp, shrill cry, as birds.
to cry out sharply in a high voice: to shriek with pain.
to utter loud, high-pitched sounds in laughing.
(of a musical instrument, a whistle, the wind, etc.) to give forth a loud, shrill sound.
to utter in a shriek: to shriek defiance.
Origin of shriek
1synonym study For shriek
Other words for shriek
Other words from shriek
- shrieker, noun
- shriek·ing·ly, adverb
- shrieky, adjective
- outshriek, verb (used with object)
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use shriek in a sentence
The audience inside the theater shrieked and sometimes clapped.
‘Texas Chainsaw 3D’ and Hollywood’s Gore Obsession | Ramin Setoodeh | January 7, 2013 | THE DAILY BEASTThere is no more prized scalp” he shrieked—and he invested the word “scalp” with blood-curdling intensity—“than mine!
Joe Walsh Vs. Tammy Duckworth: Yelps, ‘Lies’ and Tough Talk in Illinois House Showdown | Lloyd Grove | November 5, 2012 | THE DAILY BEASTTornado sirens shrieked briefly, but a tornado warning was eventually lifted.
Spider shrieked, as the nervous youngsters tried to make their way to a police officer.
So they bore Spotted Snake away with them in the canoe, while the Dogtown gang shrieked farewells from the old landing.
The Campfire Girls of Roselawn | Margaret Penrose
As each left the gun it shrieked overhead, while the flash could be seen long before the report reached the ear.
The Doctor of Pimlico | William Le QueuxShe careened so badly that the girls shrieked and Malcolm himself thought she would turn turtle.
The Red Year | Louis TracyThe sword fell from his hand, and Valerie shrieked aloud, thinking the battle at an end.
St. Martin's Summer | Rafael SabatiniOn the Surrey shore whistles shrieked, and endless moving chains sent up their monstrous clangor into the night.
Dope | Sax Rohmer
British Dictionary definitions for shriek
/ (ʃriːk) /
a shrill and piercing cry
to produce or utter (words, sounds, etc) in a shrill piercing tone
Origin of shriek
1Derived forms of shriek
- shrieker, noun
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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