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bloodcurdling

[bluhd-kurd-ling, -kur-dl-ing]
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adjective
  1. arousing terror; horrifying: a bloodcurdling scream.
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Origin of bloodcurdling

First recorded in 1930–35; blood + curdle + -ing2
Related formsblood·cur·dling·ly, adverb
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for bloodcurdling

alarming, atrocious, chilling, frightening, hair-raising, horrid, horrific, nightmarish, scary, terrifying, horrifying

Examples from the Web for bloodcurdling

Contemporary Examples of bloodcurdling

Historical Examples of bloodcurdling

  • With an outburst of bloodcurdling curses, he flung himself upon her.

    Louisiana Lou

    William West Winter

  • A bloodcurdling yell brought him to his feet with a sudden leap.

    Out of the Depths

    Robert Ames Bennet

  • He made a discreet and bloodcurdling gesture to me with the other.

    Romance

    Joseph Conrad and F.M. Hueffer

  • This, then, was the interpretation of his bloodcurdling dream.

  • It was the heartrending, bloodcurdling cry of people doomed—for the ship had begun to settle!

British Dictionary definitions for bloodcurdling

bloodcurdling

adjective
  1. terrifying; horrifying
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Derived Formsbloodcurdlingly, 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