curdle

[ kur-dl ]
/ ˈkɜr dl /
SEE SYNONYMS FOR curdle ON THESAURUS.COM

verb (used with or without object), cur·dled, cur·dling.

to change into curd; coagulate; congeal.
to spoil; turn sour.
to go wrong; turn bad or fail: Their friendship began to curdle as soon as they became business rivals.

QUIZZES

HEED THE VOX POPULI, AND TAKE THIS WORD OF THE DAY QUIZ!

Test your memory on these verbal firecrackers from the week of June 29 to July 5!
Question 1 of 7
anchorite
a granular metamorphic rock.
a person who has retired to a solitary place for a life of religious seclusion.
a hobble or fetter for a horse or other animal.
TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Idioms for curdle

    curdle the/one's blood, to fill a person with horror or fear; terrify: a scream that curdled the blood.

Origin of curdle

First recorded in 1580–90; curd + -le

OTHER WORDS FROM curdle

cur·dler, nounnon·cur·dling, adjective, nounun·cur·dled, adjectiveun·cur·dling, adjective

Words nearby curdle

curculio, curcuma, curcumin, curd, curd cheese, curdle, curdy, cure, cure-all, curet, curettage
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

Words related to curdle

thicken, acerbate, condense, clot, turn, spoil, ferment, congeal, coagulate, acidulate, acidify, clabber, curd

Example sentences from the Web for curdle

British Dictionary definitions for curdle

curdle
/ (ˈkɜːdəl) /

verb

to turn or cause to turn into curd
curdle someone's blood to fill someone with fear

Derived forms of curdle

curdler, noun

Word Origin for curdle

C16 (crudled, past participle): from curd
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