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

verb

1. to produce or utter (words, sounds, etc) in a shrill piercing tone

Derived Forms

• ˈshrieker, noun

Other Words From

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

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of shriek¹

C16: probably from Old Norse skrækja to screech ¹

Synonym Study

See scream.

Example Sentences

To their left, a hyenalike shriek pierced through the Christian rock.

From Slate

A product of the Los Angeles club scene of the late 1970s, Great White played scuzzy but tuneful rock in the proudly debauched hair-metal tradition; Mark Kendall’s guitars chugged and squealed, while Russell’s voice could evoke the manly shriek of Led Zeppelin’s Robert Plant.

From Los Angeles Times

The audience only really got going when Vance started talking about "the media," which was taken as an opportunity to turn to the journalists in attendance and shriek hate at us.

From Salon

The sound of a piping flute — a familiar hallmark of Shakespeare productions — gave way to the shriek of train whistles, the thud of pistons, and Ukrainian-language announcements of trains arriving from battered cities across the country.

From Los Angeles Times

Frontman Antonio Sanchez stepped to the microphone in his signature below-the-knee baggy shorts over leggings and monarch-butterfly-wing earring, his head bald save for a slicked-back streak of silver-black hair, and began shouting out lyrics in a blend of caressing wail and shriek.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• howl
• screech
• squawk
• squeal
• wail
• whoop