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View synonyms for shriek

shriek

[ shreek ]

noun

  1. a loud, sharp, shrill cry.

    Synonyms: screech, scream

  2. a loud, high sound of laughter.
  3. any loud, shrill sound, as of a whistle.


verb (used without object)

  1. to utter a loud, sharp, shrill cry, as birds.
  2. to cry out sharply in a high voice:

    to shriek with pain.

    Synonyms: screech, scream

  3. to utter loud, high-pitched sounds in laughing.
  4. (of a musical instrument, a whistle, the wind, etc.) to give forth a loud, shrill sound.

verb (used with object)

  1. to utter in a shriek:

    to shriek defiance.

shriek

/ ʃriːk /

noun

  1. a shrill and piercing cry
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012


verb

  1. to produce or utter (words, sounds, etc) in a shrill piercing tone
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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Derived Forms

  • ˈshrieker, noun
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Other Words From

  • shrieker noun
  • shrieking·ly adverb
  • shrieky adjective
  • outshriek verb (used with object)
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Word History and Origins

Origin of shriek1

First recorded in 1560–70; earlier shrick, northern variant of shritch (now dialect), Middle English schrichen, back formation from Old English scriccettan; akin to shrike
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Word History and Origins

Origin of shriek1

C16: probably from Old Norse skrækja to screech 1
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Synonym Study

See scream.
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Example Sentences

Shrieks of wintering birds assault the vessel’s five crew members, all clad in bright orange flotation suits.

Particularly striking was a harsh sound that changed pitch quickly and unpredictably—qualities also heard in the alarm shrieks, fear screams, and panic calls of mammals and birds.

After a recent day at Busch Gardens Williamsburg in Virginia, I can assure them that a piece of fabric does not muffle shrieks.

The night of the downpour we slept under a hardware-store tarp in a patch of skunkweed near the river, and I stayed awake listening to the wind in case it ramped up to that high shriek that means treetops are going to start snapping.

Students moan and growl and shriek and yawp, as if exorcising demons in a ritualistic ceremony.

A shriek of glee briefly broke out across the Web as inquiring minds tried to deduce who was the lucky lady.

Even her brother, Sheriff, who tried to pick her up to cuddle her, was pushed away with a firm “no” and a shriek.

For all its performance art and immersive theater foundation, the show also has its own shriek moments.

One nurse pushed her hip alarm and the pulsing shriek rang out again.

As she peered into the face of Dr. Ashton, her own was scarlet and yellow, and her voice rose to a shriek.

He was hurrying towards the corner of the palace grounds when a shriek from Winifred set his teeth on edge.

Now under the ivy-laden branches of a tall old tree an owl startles them with its shriek.

Then a moan, then a howl and a shriek arose which reached from group to group, from house to house, from square to forest.

Above the uproar of the reeling earth the shriek of the train sounded in his deafened ears.

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Shrishrieval