ululate
Americanverb (used without object)
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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ululatesimple
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ululatessimple
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have ululatedperfect
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has ululatedperfect
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am ululatingprogressive
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are ululatingprogressive
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is ululatingprogressive
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have been ululatingperfect progressive
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has been ululatingperfect progressive
Past
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ululatedsimple
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had ululatedperfect
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was ululatingprogressive
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were ululatingprogressive
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had been ululatingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of ululate
First recorded in 1615–25; from Latin ululātus, past participle of ululāre “to howl, shriek,” of imitative origin; akin to Greek hylân, ololýzein “to howl, wail,” Sanskrit ululí- “howling”; see -ate 1
Explanation
To ululate is to loudly howl or wail. Animals ululate, and so do people in pain. This is an unusual-looking word, but it means something easy to understand: howling or wailing loudly. A lion will ululate. A person in pain will ululate. Coyotes and wolves — who are known for their howling — ululate. People who have their hearts broken might cry and ululate. Ululating could mean the animal or person is in pain, or maybe they’re trying to communicate something else. The key element is that it’s loud.
Vocabulary lists containing ululate
The Namesake
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I Will Always Write Back
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Long Walk to Freedom
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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.
See Examples For:
When women’s voices ululate, they do so, in different regions of the world, to celebrate, to mourn, to pray, to warn, to seduce.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 26, 2020
The horseman howl and ululate in triumph while the Unsullied bang their spears on the ground in unison.
From Salon ● May 20, 2019
At that point, as though suddenly realizing that there were dramatic circumstances at hand, the local jamming installations swung into action, commencing to howl and ululate with a doubled fury.
From The New Yorker ● Jun. 17, 2014
The man who married Trotsky's secretary made his most interesting and rebellious characters girls: the piratical sisters, the Amazons, who "rattle our sabres to frighten the neighbours", ululate ferociously beneath their bonnets rouges.
From The Guardian ● Dec. 19, 2010
A handful of women ululate as the proceedings begin.
From "The Namesake" by Jhumpa Lahiri
It’s possible to forget that, sunk into some plush seat while a chorus line ululates, but threat remains.
From New York Times ● Mar. 16, 2020
She starts screaming in Farsi, then ululates at ear-piercing timbre.
From New York Times ● Jul. 30, 2015
"Why?" ululates Edwards, shaking his head like an aggrieved outreach worker, but, when confronted, nobody seems to know.
From The Guardian ● Jun. 22, 2013
With a maximum of temptation she ululates the ditties of the Gershwin brothers.
From Time Magazine Archive
"Regionless my placeless vowels, my sourceless consonants," Gibson ululates into the silence and emptiness�the somber and pervasive background of life that is Elkin's real concern.
From Time Magazine Archive
The crowd sang, drummed and ululated as Francis entered the dusty area.
From Reuters ● Feb. 5, 2023
But at Haza, she turned to it for comfort — and blasted it on a pulsating dance floor while fellow Arabs ululated in celebration under the Bushwick sky.
From New York Times ● Jul. 16, 2022
Who knew that Martians, inside monstrous tripodal machines taller than many buildings, actually ululated, that they made eerily haunting "ulla, ulla, ulla, ulla" sounds?
From Salon ● Nov. 26, 2021
Women ululated, fathers and uncles rushed to lift the returnees into the air amid shouts of joy.
From Seattle Times ● Sep. 14, 2018
People sang and danced and the women ululated as I was led away.
From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela
Others surged towards the casket, dancing, clapping, ululating; all through tears.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 11, 2026
Crowds gathered at the hospital, cheering and ululating to celebrate.
From BBC ● Oct. 2, 2023
In Qatar, hundreds of elated fans clad in green and red outside Al Thumama Stadium celebrated Morocco’s win, chanting, ululating, banging on drums and waving the national flag.
From Seattle Times ● Dec. 10, 2022
At the midway point, Fohr’s operatic voice explodes in all its dark, ululating grandeur.
From Washington Post ● Oct. 21, 2021
A high ululating cry brought him instantly awake.
From "The Ear, the Eye, and the Arm" by Nancy Farmer
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.
