caterwaul

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Drayton, in his "Heroical Epistles," quotes the siren and the hyena as examples To call for aid, and then to lie in wait So the hyena murthers by deceit By sweet enticement sudden death to bring So from the rocks th' alluring mermaids sing Trevisa has invented an adjective for us that expresses the midnight caterwaul--"ghastful."

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Definitions (9)

Toggle American Heritage definitions American Heritage Dictionary (4)

  1. intransitive verb To cry or screech like a cat in heat.
  2. intransitive verb To make a shrill, discordant sound.
  3. intransitive verb To have a noisy argument.

Toggle Century definitions Century Dictionary (1)

Toggle GNU Webster definitions GNU Webster's 1913 (2)

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Examples (50)

  • A similar tribute to a cats gracefulness, to cat-foot , or "walk as silently as a cat," has been in use since about 1916. caterwaul: Since the time of Chaucer (1386), to screech and howl like cats fighting or a cat in heat. —  The Word Detective
  • There was a hideous caterwaul, and I looked around to see an enormous creature that looked like a yeti pounding its fists against its barrel chest; several white balls shot toward it, and the yeti abruptly calmed down. —  Asimov'sSF,January2008
  • Yes indeed, after four long weeks of auditions, tonight we'll finally get to see potential superstars emerge, while lesser contestants crack, caterwaul, and forget their lyrics in front of Simon, Paula, and Randy. —  Entertainment Weekly's PopWatch
  • Before you caterwaul at the screen take a deep breath and continue reading. —  Hedgeco.net Breaking News
  • In fact, no-one else plays the piano quite so clunkily, and although the Diamonds yodel merrily through the first song, and caterwaul weirdly through the second, these seem like a pointless diversion, endearing only for the explanation afterwards that they were scared to sing F_ Off in church, except Rachel, who Ane calls a "Welsh [lady of easy virtue]." —  Drowned In Sound // Feed
 

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Roget's II: The New Thesaurus, Third Edition by the Editors of the American Heritage® Dictionary. Copyright © 2003, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Etymologies (2)

Toggle American Heritage etymologies American Heritage Dictionary (1)

  1. Middle English *caterwawlen : *cater, tomcat; akin to Low German kater + wawlen, wrawlen, to yowl (ultimately of imitative origin).

Toggle Century etymologies Century Dictionary (1)

  1. A variant of earlier caterwaw, after waul: see caterwaw and waul.
 

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/ˈkætərwɔl/
by American Heritage

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