shrill - Definitions from Dictionary.com

10 results for: shrill

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This

shrill

Audio Help [shril] Pronunciation Key adjective, -er, -est, verb, noun, adverb

–adjective

1.	high-pitched and piercing in sound quality: a shrill cry.

2.	producing such a sound.

3.	full of or characterized by such a sound: shrill music.

4.	betraying some strong emotion or attitude in an exaggerated amount, as antagonism or defensiveness.

5.	marked by great intensity; keen: the shrill, incandescent light of the exploding bomb.

–verb (used with object), verb (used without object)

6.	to cry shrilly.

–noun

7.	a shrill sound.

–adverb

8.	in a shrill manner; shrilly.

[Origin: 1300–50; ME shrille (adj., v.); akin to OE scrallettan to sound loudly; c. G schrill (adj.), schrillen (v.); cf. ON skrīll rabble

]

—Related forms

shrillness, noun

shrilly, adverb

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
shrill

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American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

shrill Audio Help (shrĭl) Pronunciation Key
adj. shrill·er, shrill·est

High-pitched and piercing in tone or sound: the shrill wail of a siren.
Producing a sharp, high-pitched tone or sound: a shrill fife.
Sharp or keen to the senses; harshly vivid: shrill colors.

v.   shrilled, shrill·ing, shrills

v.   tr.
To utter in a shrill manner; scream.

v.   intr.
To produce a shrill cry or sound.

[Middle English shrille.]

shrill'ness n., shril'ly adv.

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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
shrill

c.1386, schrylle "high-pitched, piercing" (of the voice), probably related to O.E. scralletan "to sound loudly," of imitative origin (cf. Low Ger. schrell, Ger. schrill "piercing, shrill"). The verb sense of "to sound shrilly" is recorded from c.1300.

WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This

shrill
adjective
1.	having or emitting a high-pitched and sharp tone or tones ; "a shrill whistle"; "a shrill gaiety"
2.	being sharply insistent on being heard; "strident demands"; "shrill criticism" [syn: strident]
3.	of colors that are bright and gaudy; "a shrill turquoise"
verb
1.	utter a shrill cry [syn: shriek]

Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
shrill [ʃril] adjective

high-pitched and piercing
Example: the shrill cry of a child

Arabic:	صَوْت حاد ومُجَلْجَل
Chinese (Simplified):	尖声的
Chinese (Traditional):	尖聲的
Czech:	pronikavý
Danish:	skingrende
Dutch:	schril
Estonian:	läbilõikav
Finnish:	kimeä
French:	criard
German:	schrill
Greek:	οξύς, διαπεραστικός, στριγκός
Hungarian:	éles
Icelandic:	hvellur, skrækur, skerandi
Indonesian:	lengking, nyaring
Italian:	acuto, stridulo

Japanese:	かん高い
Korean:	높고 날카로운
Latvian:	ass; spiedzīgs; griezīgs
Lithuanian:	šaižus, veriantis
Norwegian:	skjærende, skingrende
Polish:	przenikliwy
Portuguese (Brazil):	estridente
Portuguese (Portugal):	estridente
Romanian:	strident
Russian:	пронзительный
Slovak:	prenikavý
Slovenian:	rezek
Spanish:	estridente, agudo
Swedish:	gäll, genomträngande
Turkish:	tiz, keskin

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Shrill

Shrill\, a. [Compar. Shriller; superl. Shrillest.] [OE. shril, schril; akin to LG. schrell, G. schrill. See Shrill,v. i.] Acute; sharp; piercing; having or emitting a sharp, piercing tone or sound; -- said of a sound, or of that which produces a sound.

Hear the shrill whistle which doth order give To sounds confused. --Shak.

Let winds be shrill, let waves roll high. --Byron.

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Shrill

Hear the shrill whistle which doth order give To sounds confused. --Shak.

Let winds be shrill, let waves roll high. --Byron.

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Shrill

Shrill\, n. A shrill sound. [Obs.] --Spenser.

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Shrill

Shrill\, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Shrilled; p. pr. & vb. n. Shrilling.] [OE. schrillen, akin to G. schrillen; cf. AS. scralletan to resound loudly, Icel. skr["o]lta to jolt, Sw. skr["a]lla to shrill, Norw. skryla, skr?la. Cf. Skirl.] To utter an acute, piercing sound; to sound with a sharp, shrill tone; to become shrill.

Break we our pipes, that shrilledloud as lark. --Spenser.

No sounds were heard but of the shrilling cock. --Goldsmith.

His voice shrilled with passion. --L. Wallace.

On-line Medical Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

shrill

shrill: in CancerWEB's On-line Medical Dictionary

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