curdle

American  

[kur-dl] / ˈkɜr dl /

verb (used with or without object)

curdled, curdling

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

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

Etymology

Origin of curdle

First recorded in 1580–90; curd + -le

Example Sentences

The national innocence had curdled since his introduction, and so the hero himself couldn’t be such an innocent figure.

From The Wall Street Journal

A decade in New York had promised stardom; by Christmas 2016, the promise had curdled.

From Los Angeles Times

Sharon would soon suffer a devastating stroke, but his Gaza policy survived and curdled.

From The Wall Street Journal

Two Navy sailors, Jefferson Jones and his pal, Sink, have been adrift on a raft for 18 days, long enough for hunger to curdle into imagination.

From Salon

Piercing and horrible, the screaming is pitched to curdle the listener’s blood but not, in this instance, to overwhelm the voice of the narrator.

From The Wall Street Journal