bloodcurdling
Americanadjective
adjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of bloodcurdling
Explanation
Anything bloodcurdling is extremely alarming or horrifying, like a sudden, piercing, bloodcurdling scream. This is a fanciful term for shocking things that feel like they're curdling your blood. Most often, you'll read or hear about a bloodcurdling scream, like an ear-piercing shriek. However, anything that fills you with horror can be described as bloodcurdling, like a terrible, bloodcurdling sight. Only terrible things are described as bloodcurdling, which means something similar to hair-raising and nightmarish. If something is only a little gross or disturbing, it's not quite bloodcurdling: this is a strong, visceral word.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
After six seasons, Peaky Blinders reached its bloodcurdling finish on TV in 2022 and had used the West Midlands backdrop for many locations, such as the Black Country Living Museum in Dudley.
From BBC ● Sep. 30, 2024
But to South Korean viewers, when she has turned to more alarming announcements, such as the North’s weapons tests, her warlike cries could seem as bloodcurdling as the information itself.
From New York Times ● Apr. 15, 2022
They might love the weirdness of it, but they also might be like a child in a group we passed on our way out of the tunnel, who let out a bloodcurdling scream.
From Seattle Times ● Jul. 29, 2021
Each, however, harbors a doozy of a secret, one of them bloodcurdling.
From Washington Post ● Jul. 27, 2021
Major Puff, who, after hearing the bloodcurdling scream, thought he was under attack, had pushed up against the door to block any burrow breach.
From "The Very, Very Far North" by Dan Bar-el
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
