bloodcurdling

[bluhd-kurd-ling, -kur-dl-ing]

adjective

1. arousing terror; horrifying.

   a bloodcurdling scream.

bloodcurdling

/ ˈblʌdˌkɜːdlɪŋ /

adjective

1. terrifying; horrifying

Other Word Forms

• bloodcurdlingly adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of bloodcurdling¹

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

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.

Read more on BBC

One woman let out a “bloodcurdling” scream, which Runyan said would “stick with him forever.”

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Yet I was also transfixed: Chris Nash’s direction is so persuasively bold — brazen, really — and bloodcurdlingly coolheaded that his unusual shocker is impossible to dismiss.

Read more on New York Times

From deep within the cave came what was probably supposed to be a bloodcurdling roar.

Read more on Literature

It was just after their third break that they turned a darkened corner and Brooklyn let out a bloodcurdling scream.

Read more on Literature