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

Opposites attract, even when they come from different ethnic backgrounds, Rob seems to shrilly scream at the top of its lungs.
CBS’s ‘Rob’ Is TV’s Worst New Show|Jace Lacob|January 11, 2012|DAILY BEAST
That this conclusion had been reached by some one else in the car was proved by a woman's voice that rose shrilly above the rest.
The Outdoor Girls in the Saddle|Laura Lee Hope
Once they thought they heard voices outside, and shrilly they cried to their imaginary rescuers.
The Outdoor Girls in the Saddle|Laura Lee Hope
Startlingly Mrs. Briggs laughed, shrilly, unpleasantly, as a woman laughs in great fear.
Scattergood Baines|Clarence Budington Kelland

She laughed shrilly, with a set, white face; which is the most unmirthful kind of laugh you can imagine.
Jaffery|William J. Locke
A minute after that it seemed as though every door in every house on the street slammed shrilly.
Molly Make-Believe|Eleanor Hallowell Abbott

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