Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- v. To utter a long loud mournful cry; wail.
- v. To say or utter with a yowl.
- n. A long loud mournful cry; a wail.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- To give a long distressful or mournful cry, as a dog; howl; hence, of persons, to yell; bawl.
- n. A long distressful or mournful cry, as that of a dog.
Wiktionary
- n. A prolonged, loud cry, like the sound of an animal; a wail; a howl.
- v. Utter a yowl.
- v. Express by yowling; utter with a yowl.
GNU Webster's 1913
- v. To utter a loud, long, and mournful cry, as a dog; to howl; to yell.
- n. A loud, protracted, and mournful cry, as that of a dog; a howl.
WordNet 3.0
- v. cry loudly, as of animals
- n. a very loud utterance (like the sound of an animal)
- v. utter shrieks, as of cats
Etymologies
- Middle English yowlen, probably of imitative origin .
Examples
“Then, suddenly, he heard a sharp and ugly yowl from the bath-house park; and when he stood up he saw, in the pale moonlight, a fox standing on the pavement under the balcony.”
“Howlin' Wolf yowl, which is richer and more elastic than ever on "Bad as Me," still has a mound of dark brown hair, same style, though thinner, that he's worn since his first album in 1973.”
“yowl," that filled the whole valley, and reverberating from the cliffs, appeared continuous.”
“Frontman Frank Black's signature high-pitched yowl sounds just like it did in the 80s -- maybe even clearer.”
The Huffington Post: Carly Schwartz: Rock Is Most Definitely Not Dead
“You want to yowl at her that you've got three friggin' kids, two horses and a crappy job selling clothes to women who couldn't operate a sewing machine.”
“Along with Caleb's sentimental yowl, the Kings of Leon consistently define a chorus with ricocheting guitar riffs and reliable eighth-note bass lines -- all gleaned from the gospel according to U2.”
The Washington Post: Kings of Leon bemoan their rock stardom on latest album, 'Come Around Sundown'
“Well, my friend and good comrade, the Kilkenny cats fought till neither hide, nor hair, nor yowl, was left.”
“Although other kids were quicker with the software, Simon enjoyed these studies because he loved learning new words, like caterwaul, which meant “to shriek or yowl,” and taciturn, which described someone who was quiet… like him.”
“You are not something that needs nothing—so go, scream and wail and gnash your teeth, yowl with the wind, gather your bulk like the thickening clouds.”
“Multitudes yowl to throw this congress out, the very one we each voluntarily put in and empowered.”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘yowl’.
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Of Imitative Origin
Words formed in imitation of the sound of the things they signify.
bawl, biff, blizzard, blob, blooper, bob, boff, bomb, bonkers, boo, borborygmus, brouhaha and 148 more...
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Talk Talk
Words for Talking
squawk, gab, chatter, chitchat, blab, prattle, blather, discuss, hector, plead, cajole, harangue and 189 more...
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Sounds
words that describe sound
atchoo, atishoo, babble, bam, bay, beep, blast, blather, bleat, bleep, blip, bong and 241 more...
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sound (loud)
words for loud sounds
( descriptive, randomness )crash, thud, bump, thump, boom, smash, explode, roar, scream, screech, short, yell and 167 more...
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Owls
owl, owls, bowl, howl, acknowledge, batfowl, barn owl, barred owl, bowlder, bowler, bowlegged, lawn bowling and 40 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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flapping and foaming
Things We Do With Our Mouth, Lips Or Jaws
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