shrill
high-pitched and piercing in sound quality: a shrill cry.
producing such a sound.
full of or characterized by such a sound: shrill music.
betraying some strong emotion or attitude in an exaggerated amount, as antagonism or defensiveness.
marked by great intensity; keen: the shrill, incandescent light of the exploding bomb.
to cry shrilly.
a shrill sound.
in a shrill manner; shrilly.
Origin of shrill
1Other words from shrill
- shrillness, noun
- shrilly, adverb
- outshrill, verb (used with object)
- un·shrill, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use shrill in a sentence
Opposites attract, even when they come from different ethnic backgrounds, Rob seems to shrilly scream at the top of its lungs.
That this conclusion had been reached by some one else in the car was proved by a woman's voice that rose shrilly above the rest.
The Outdoor Girls in the Saddle | Laura Lee HopeOnce they thought they heard voices outside, and shrilly they cried to their imaginary rescuers.
The Outdoor Girls in the Saddle | Laura Lee HopeStartlingly Mrs. Briggs laughed, shrilly, unpleasantly, as a woman laughs in great fear.
Scattergood Baines | Clarence Budington KellandShe laughed shrilly, with a set, white face; which is the most unmirthful kind of laugh you can imagine.
Jaffery | William J. Locke
A minute after that it seemed as though every door in every house on the street slammed shrilly.
Molly Make-Believe | Eleanor Hallowell Abbott
British Dictionary definitions for shrill
/ (ʃrɪl) /
sharp and high-pitched in quality
emitting a sharp high-pitched sound
to utter (words, sounds, etc) in a shrill tone
(tr) rare to cause to produce a shrill sound
Origin of shrill
1Derived forms of shrill
- shrillness, noun
- shrilly, 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
Browse