shrieky

shriek

[shreek]
noun
1.
a loud, sharp, shrill cry.
2.
a loud, high sound of laughter.
3.
any loud, shrill sound, as of a whistle.
verb (used without object)
4.
to utter a loud, sharp, shrill cry, as birds.
5.
to cry out sharply in a high voice: to shriek with pain.
6.
to utter loud, high-pitched sounds in laughing.
7.
(of a musical instrument, a whistle, the wind, etc.) to give forth a loud, shrill sound.
00:10
Shrieky is always a great word to know.
So is ninnyhammer. Does it mean:
a chattering or flighty, light-headed person.
a fool or simpleton; ninny.
verb (used with object)
8.
to utter in a shriek: to shriek defiance.

Origin:
1560–70; earlier shrick, N variant of shritch (now dial.), Middle English schrichen, back formation from Old English scriccettan; akin to shrike

shriek·er, noun
shriek·ing·ly, adverb
shriek·y, adjective
out·shriek, verb (used with object)


1, 5. scream, screech. 5. See scream.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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World English Dictionary
shriek (ʃriːk) [Click for IPA pronunciation guide]
 
n
1.  a shrill and piercing cry
 
vb
2.  to produce or utter (words, sounds, etc) in a shrill piercing tone
 
[C16: probably from Old Norse skrækja to screech1]
 
'shrieker
 
n

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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Etymonline
Word Origin & History

shriek
c.1200, scrycke, from O.N. skrækja "to screech" (see screech), probably of imitative origin. The noun is attested from 1590.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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Slang Dictionary

shriek definition


  1. n.
    an exclamation point. (Printers. See also screamer; shout.) : Take off that shriek. You use too many of those things.
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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