shrill
Americanadjective
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high-pitched and piercing in sound quality.
a shrill cry.
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producing such a sound.
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full of or characterized by such a sound.
shrill music.
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betraying some strong emotion or attitude in an exaggerated amount, as antagonism or defensiveness.
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marked by great intensity; keen.
the shrill, incandescent light of the exploding bomb.
verb (used with or without object)
noun
adverb
adjective
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sharp and high-pitched in quality
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emitting a sharp high-pitched sound
verb
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to utter (words, sounds, etc) in a shrill tone
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rare (tr) to cause to produce a shrill sound
Other Word Forms
Etymology
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
Explanation
A shrill sound is high pitched and sharp, like the squeak of the mouse in your cupboard or the sound of your “eek” when you hear it. Closer to a shriek than a trill, a shrill tone is one that might make you cover your ears, usually because the tone is so high and sharp. A high pitched voice, a classroom of excited first graders, or the sound of chalk scraping the board can all be shrill, as can a color or light that looks as sharp and intense as a shrill tone sounds.
Vocabulary lists containing shrill
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
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List 5
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"Easter, 1916" by W.B. Yeats
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
“My grandmother was a sharecropper in Arkansas, and I know that this is the same thing,” a man shouts at one point as whistles shrill and a handheld siren wails.
From Slate • Feb. 11, 2026
Thatcher was seen as "strange and shrill" when she got the job, but became the party's most successful boss of modern times.
From BBC • Oct. 4, 2025
“I know James isn’t going to take the impression in a more self-righteous or shrill direction,” he says—not because “SNL” is playing things safe, but because the bit simply wouldn’t be as funny.
From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 3, 2025
Shakespeare’s play assumes the shrieks and shrill cries of a B-movie.
From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 19, 2025
“I think there are two babies this year,” Axel says, the shrill calls still fresh in his mind.
From "A Bird Will Soar" by Alison Green Myers
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
