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

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

By now she understood that the mood in the nursery had begun to curdle, so to speak, and that the cause had something to do with her shutting of the windows.

From Literature

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

From Salon

But what the screenplay lacks in depth, the film makes up for in visual pageantry, packing just enough style to rise above a truly curdled genre offering.

From Salon

The occasional times West spoke directly about the film were often in shorthand, referencing movies like “The Aviator” and “There Will Be Blood,” portraits of men whose genius curdles into obsession and madness.

From Los Angeles Times