shrill

[ shril ]

/ ʃrɪl /

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See synonyms for: shrill / shrilled / shrilling / shrills on Thesaurus.com

adjective, shrill·er, shrill·est.

high-pitched and piercing in sound quality: a shrill cry.

producing such a sound.

full of or characterized by such a sound: shrill music.

betraying some strong emotion or attitude in an exaggerated amount, as antagonism or defensiveness.

marked by great intensity; keen: the shrill, incandescent light of the exploding bomb.

verb (used with or without object)

to cry shrilly.

noun

a shrill sound.

adverb

in a shrill manner; shrilly.

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Origin of shrill

1300–50; Middle English shrille (adj., v.); akin to Old English scrallettan to sound loudly; cognate with German schrill (adj.), schrillen (v.); compare Old Norse skrīll rabble

OTHER WORDS FROM shrill

shrillness, nounshrilly, adverboutshrill, verb (used with object)un·shrill, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use shrill in a sentence

Bullfrogs bellowed, tree-frogs bleated like lost lambs, crickets shrilled, and owls hooted.
Motor Matt's Daring, or, True to His Friends|Stanley R. Matthews
He was still engaged in reading when a bell shrilled in the hall.
The Daffodil Mystery|Edgar Wallace
He rubbed his eyes, shrilled an exclamation, and began running in the opposite direction.
Eastern Nights - and Flights|Alan Bott
High-pitched war whoops shrilled out of the forest shadows ahead, and more arrows whistled at them.
Shaman|Robert Shea

The yelling procession came to the masses of the people, who shrilled in answer, the dogs ki-yied, and old trade-guns boomed.
The Way of an Indian|Frederic Remington

British Dictionary definitions for shrill

shrill

/ (ʃrɪl) /

adjective

sharp and high-pitched in quality

emitting a sharp high-pitched sound

verb

to utter (words, sounds, etc) in a shrill tone

(tr) rare to cause to produce a shrill sound

Derived forms of shrill

shrillness, nounshrilly, adverb

Word Origin for shrill

C14: probably from Old English scralletan; related to German schrill shrill, Dutch schrallen to shriek

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

shrill

Origin of shrill

OTHER WORDS FROM shrill

Words related to shrill

How to use shrill in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for shrill

Derived forms of shrill

Word Origin for shrill