spine-chilling
Americanadjective
adjective
Etymology
Origin of spine-chilling
First recorded in 1945–50; spine ( def. ) + chilling ( def. )
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.
The best film goes first: It’s about a father-daughter camping trip that goes horribly wrong at the hands of a creepy-looking park ranger and, in a spine-chilling scene, living sand.
From New York Times • Dec. 8, 2023
To visit the spine-chilling inside of Vecna’s mind, head to 10th Avenue West in Queen Anne where it meets West Bothwell Street.
From Seattle Times • Oct. 30, 2023
The unlikely meshing of gospel and rap, spine-chilling lyrics and clever sampling of Stevie Wonder’s “Pastime Paradise” would eventually turn the single into a chart-topping hit and catapult the rapper’s decades-long musical career.
From Washington Post • Sep. 29, 2022
“This is a spine-chilling message that there is no safe place for critics of the monarchy,” said Sunai Phasuk, a Bangkok-based researcher for Human Rights Watch.
From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 29, 2020
When he saw me he gave a loud, clear wailing wraaaah—a spine-chilling call that is used to threaten a dangerous animal.
From "My Life with the Chimpanzees" by Jane Goodall
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.
