bloodcurdling

American  

[bluhd-kurd-ling, -kur-dl-ing] / ˈblʌdˌkɜrd lɪŋ, -ˌkɜr dl ɪŋ /

adjective

1. arousing terror; horrifying.

   a bloodcurdling scream.

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bloodcurdling British  

/ ˈblʌdˌkɜːdlɪŋ /

adjective

1. terrifying; horrifying

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Other Word Forms

• bloodcurdlingly adverb

Etymology

Origin of bloodcurdling

First recorded in 1930–35; blood + curdle + -ing ²

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

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

The scream was just right — bloodcurdling, if also very funny — and the practical effects crew had finally found the proper volume and trajectory of the water cannon.

From New York Times • Apr. 9, 2024

There’s entertaining — and even healthy — catharsis to be found in bloodcurdling tales of zombies, vampires and vaguely supernatural Others.

From Washington Post • Apr. 22, 2023

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

Lyra was about to tell her one of the bloodcurdling stories she’d made up to frighten the Oxford kids with, but the man was already speaking.

From "The Golden Compass" by Philip Pullman