Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- n. A shrill, often frantic cry.
- n. A sound suggestive of such a cry.
- v. To utter a shriek.
- v. To make a sound similar to a shriek.
- v. To utter with a shriek.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- To utter a sharp, shrill cry; cry out more or less convulsively, at a pitch above that of a scream, as in great and sudden fright, in horror, or in extreme pain: used sometimes, by hyperbole, of laughter.
- To utter with a shriek or a shrill wild cry.
- n. A sharp, shrill outcry: as, the shriek of a whistle; shrieks of laughter. See shriek, v.
- n. Synonyms Screech etc. See screem.
Wiktionary
- n. A sharp, shrill outcry or scream; a shrill wild cry such as is caused by sudden or extreme terror, pain, or the like.
- v. To utter a loud, sharp, shrill sound or cry, as do some birds and beasts; to scream, as in a sudden fright, in horror or anguish.
- v. To utter sharply and shrilly; to utter in or with a shriek or shrieks.
GNU Webster's 1913
- v. To utter a loud, sharp, shrill sound or cry, as do some birds and beasts; to scream, as in a sudden fright, in horror or anguish.
- v. To utter sharply and shrilly; to utter in or with a shriek or shrieks.
- n. A sharp, shrill outcry or scream; a shrill wild cry such as is caused by sudden or extreme terror, pain, or the like.
WordNet 3.0
- n. sharp piercing cry
- n. a high-pitched noise resembling a human cry
- v. utter a shrill cry
Etymologies
- From Middle English scrycke, probably from Old Norse skrækja, itself probably of imitative origin. Cognate to Swedish skrika (skrik), German schreien (Schrei), both with the same meaning, and Albanian grykë ("throat"). (Wiktionary)
- Middle English skriken, shriken, of Scandinavian origin; akin to Old Norse skrækja. (American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition)
Examples
“But the shriek from the bed was not that of a man, but a boy.”
“Just as I said it, there was a shriek from the bathroom, shortly followed by splashes, shouting and more crying .... ah, everything back to normal again.”
“An old woman, called Williamson, a sad reprobate, in attempting to do so, set her foot within the fender, which the captain had converted into a repository for empty glass bottles; the smash that ensued was echoed by a shriek from the whole party.”
“One sharp wild shriek is heard – and all is still!”
“So from you arch liberals to the arch conservatives, the shriek is the same.”
“Stressed inward, one of the side plates buckled; air stole through the breach with a thin shriek.”
“But it is the locomotive, independent of the shriek, that is his abomination; whereas a man less sensitive to sights, and (if possible) more sensitive to sounds, might pardon the cutting up of the landscape were his ear-drum spared from splitting.”
Lippincott's Magazine of Popular Literature and Science Volume 11, No. 23, February, 1873
“Nothing happened to falsify her desperate assertion that the shriek was the delusion of a vivid dream.”
“And all in passion utter'd a 'dry' shriek, which is the 'sicca vox' of the Roman poets.”
“A loud, piercing shriek, which issued from the gallery, broke the silence with which the Assembly had received this news.”
Empress Josephine An historical sketch of the days of Napoleon
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘shriek’.
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Talk Talk
Words for Talking
( open list, randomness )squawk, gab, chatter, chitchat, blab, prattle, blather, discuss, hector, plead, cajole, harangue and 200 more...
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SMILE and other emotive verbs
Single verbs that describe expression or emotional reaction. "He __ed" (smiled/gulped/scoffed...)
smile, beam, sneer, scoff, giggle, laugh, snigger, scowl, grin, leer, wince, grimace and 97 more...
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Sounds
words that describe sound
atchoo, atishoo, babble, bam, bay, beep, blast, blather, bleat, bleep, blip, bong and 242 more...
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El perro hace guau guau
Animal sounds in different languages, and the verbs that specify them.
Since Georgetown took down their page, the current definitive website for this information is:
Abbott ani...øf-øf, knor knor, groin groin, grunz, röf-röf, boo boo, hrgu hrgu, nöff-nöff, oink-oink, zumbar, ulular, rebuznar and 154 more...
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Monosyllabic.
How much oomph can you fit in one of them words what don't use more than one sound byte.
morph, deign, pip, thwart, swerve, awe, clash, squall, shriek, prowl, throng, deft and 22 more...
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Funny Laughter Words
Words that speak humor
humor, laugh, funny, laughter, hilarity, guffaw, chortle, giggle, burst, hilarious, happy, chuckle and 66 more...
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I am : talking
"These are talking words," I announce. "You mean verbs that can be used for dialogue?" you ask. "That's right!" I agree.
say, speak, ask, declare, query, shout, yell, scream, shriek, squeal, squeak, screech and 81 more...
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Fearlobes
EEK! Emotion words and words associated with fear. Let's avoid -phobia words.
terrified, threatened, paralyzed, afraid, tormented, frightened, scared, blench, worried, cowardly, fretful, menaced and 57 more...
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Not with a bang...
Whimpering, wailing words...
wheeple, whimper, whinge, whine, mewl, pule, moan, sniffle, snivel, weep, lament, mourn and 16 more...
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Words from books I've read
These are some words I didn't know when I read and now I want to know!
Scribble, Newfangled, swift, swathe, budget, obstreperous, trickle, rank, covetous, scratch, hunch, dodge and 179 more...
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Words Covered in Faery Dust (S)
words that evoke magic, mystery, mayhem, magnificence or anything else that glimmers in the grass
sabian symbols, saffron, sagacious, sage, salamander, sally lunn, salmon, salsify, salt water taffy, samhain, sand dollar, sandalwood and 270 more...
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aliko's Words
deli, turkey, bodrum, deniz, sunny, seks, tatil, hava, zeeman, captain, kapitein, kaptan and 256 more...
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Delicious Words
The stuff that fit its descript. so well you can almost taste it on your tongue or feel the sting against your skin.
gurgle, grubby, tangy, bolt, spring, skid, shudder, thud, thump, spit, lush, pop and 91 more...
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Setting the Scene: Dark and Dreary
Words that lend to the dark and dreary atmosphere of gothic literature.
dark, dreary, shroud, shrouded, veiled, skeleton, skeletal, dead, death, murky, gloomy, lugubrious and 274 more...
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big book gre
abase, abbess, abbey, abbot, abdicate, abdomen, abdominal, abduction, abed, aberration, abet, abeyance and 6691 more...
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Cool Verbs
shriek, preen, manipulate, haunt, slither, writhe, shackle, choke, deny, plunge, beckon, ensnare and 6 more...
Tweets
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