bloodcurdling

[ bluhd-kurd-ling, -kur-dl-ing ]
See synonyms for bloodcurdling on Thesaurus.com
adjective
  1. arousing terror; horrifying: a bloodcurdling scream.

Origin of bloodcurdling

1
First recorded in 1930–35; blood + curdle + -ing2

Other words from bloodcurdling

  • blood·cur·dling·ly, adverb

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use bloodcurdling in a sentence

  • But they were met by the main body of guerrillas and all came charging with blood curdling yells.

  • Doubtless the captain reported on his arrival home a blood-curdling story of his encounter with pirates off the coast of Cuba.

  • Surely no wilder phantasy, no more outrageous, blood-curdling nightmare ever entered the most disordered brain.

  • Roused from sound slumbers by blood-curdling Indian war whoops, a few escaped, but only to die of cold on their way to Albany.

    The Story of the Thirteen Colonies | H. A. (Hlne Adeline) Guerber
  • It came quickly, mingled with a blood-curdling yell from a hundred or more savage throats.

    The Argus Pheasant | John Charles Beecham

British Dictionary definitions for bloodcurdling

bloodcurdling

/ (ˈblʌdˌkɜːdlɪŋ) /


adjective
  1. terrifying; horrifying

Derived forms of bloodcurdling

  • bloodcurdlingly, adverb

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