curdle

American  

[kur-dl] / ˈkɜr dl /

verb (used with or without object)

• curdles,
  present (3rd person singular)
• curdled,
  past participle,  past
• curdling
  present participle

1. to change into curd; coagulate; congeal.

2. to spoil; turn sour.

3. to go wrong; turn bad or fail.

   Their friendship began to curdle as soon as they became business rivals.

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idioms

1. curdle the / one's blood, to fill a person with horror or fear; terrify.

   a scream that curdled the blood.

curdle British  

/ ˈkɜːdəl /

verb

1. to turn or cause to turn into curd

2. to fill someone with fear

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• curdler
  noun
• noncurdling
  adjective
• uncurdled
  adjective
• uncurdling
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Participles

• curdling
  present
• curdled
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• curdle
  simple
• curdles
  simple
• have curdled
  perfect
• has curdled
  perfect
• am curdling
  progressive
• are curdling
  progressive
• is curdling
  progressive
• have been curdling
  perfect progressive
• has been curdling
  perfect progressive

Past

• curdled
  simple
• had curdled
  perfect
• was curdling
  progressive
• were curdling
  progressive
• had been curdling
  perfect progressive

Future

• will curdle
  simple
• will have curdled
  perfect
• will be curdling
  progressive
• will have been curdling
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of curdle

First recorded in 1580–90; curd + -le

Explanation

When things curdle, they turn from liquid gradually to solid, forming clumps along the way. If you leave milk out of the refrigerator long enough, it will curdle. When a liquid curdles, it forms curds, or lumpy solid masses. In some cases this is deliberate, as when you make cheese or tofu. Other times, you might accidentally let something curdle, like a custard or sauce, or a forgotten container of cream at the back of your refrigerator. Curdle was originally crudle, from crud (later curd), "any coagulated substance," or "congeal."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

curdle curdles curdled curdling

The phrase “more modern ways of thinking” may curdle the blood of the reader, who may brace for Ms. Lutz to inculpate her subject in matters of race, class and gender.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 22, 2026

A practicing Mormon, Coppins had no previous experience with gambling but quickly learned how easily the “joyful naivete” of his initial use “could curdle into delusion and compulsion.”

From Slate ● May 5, 2026

But I think that people think sometimes you'd be like, 'Oh, cream and citrus together, it going to curdle?'

From Salon ● Dec. 21, 2024

But his father declined the offer, and Cuenci’s voice began to curdle under the influence of puberty.

From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 12, 2022

Plague and drought were as “natural” as springtime; If milk could curdle, God knows robins could fall.

From "Sula" by Toni Morrison

Euphoria curdles into frustration as she drops her head into her hand, the realization sinking in that the finals are now out of reach.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 13, 2026

There may be an undercurrent of gossip, like the hints of discord between Affleck and Leavitt, but nothing that curdles our mood.

From Salon ● Nov. 4, 2025

I’ve seen it over and over in my practice: A gesture that is initially received with intense gratitude curdles into hurt or anger.

From Slate ● Mar. 23, 2025

It turns out you can pay a lot for the privilege of real-time “re-enactments,” and he does, commissioning a series of increasingly elaborate set pieces whose pursuit soon curdles into monomania.

From New York Times ● Jan. 13, 2024

Then Sara squeezes fresh lemon juice and water into the mixture and, as promised, it curdles.

From "A Place at the Table" by Saadia Faruqi and Laura Shovan

Against him stand those who think Britain's hostility to cooling has curdled into a type of masochism.

From BBC ● Jul. 29, 2026

And when the Bucks chose to send Antetokounmpo to the Miami Heat instead, the Celtics’ dream scenario had suddenly curdled into a nightmare.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 3, 2026

As Mrie recounts, Syrian democratic idealism curdled over time into infighting and worse.

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 24, 2026

Even as investor sentiment has curdled, TD Cowen believes a sustained appetite for data-center spending could cause Vertiv’s customer orders to accelerate as soon as the fourth quarter.

From Barron's ● Dec. 1, 2025

“It’s not at all like lemon curd. I tried to talk Mama out of doing this recipe. It’s made from curdled milk.”

From "A Place at the Table" by Saadia Faruqi and Laura Shovan

I called Gao Shanwen back in 2019, early in Xi Jinping’s second term, when disappointment over Beijing’s failure to reform its state sector was curdling into something closer to alarm.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 14, 2026

He returned to a hometown that seemed to be developing under that same American planning influence whose reputation was curdling up north.

From Slate ● Dec. 22, 2024

The tagline — “What a guy! What a lug! What a hero! What a bum!” — illustrates the tentative truce between fans and umpires that is always, inevitably, one call from curdling.

From Seattle Times ● May 31, 2024

Then warm liquid from a broth or sauce is added slowly to the mixture to temper the eggs and prevent them from curdling.

From Washington Times ● Sep. 27, 2023

I indulged in my self-pity, the nastiness inside me curdling like putrid milk.

From "October Sky" by Homer Hickam