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shrill - 7 dictionary results

shrill

  [shril] adjective, -er, -est, verb, noun, adverb
Use shrill in a Sentence
–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
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To shrill
shrill   (shrĭl)   
adj.   shrill·er, shrill·est
  1. High-pitched and piercing in tone or sound: the shrill wail of a siren.
  2. Producing a sharp, high-pitched tone or sound: a shrill fife.
  3. 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.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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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.

Shrill

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

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.

Shrill

Shrill\, v. t. To utter or express in a shrill tone; to cause to make a shrill sound.

How poor Andromache shrills her dolors forth. --Shak.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Language Translation for : shrill
Spanish: estridente, agudo,
German: schrill,
Japanese: かん高い
More Translations »

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.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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