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Synonyms

howling

American  
[hou-ling] / ˈhaʊ lɪŋ /

adjective

  1. producing or uttering a howling noise.

    a howling mob.

  2. desolate, dismal, or dreary.

    a howling wilderness.

  3. Informal. very great; tremendous.

    a howling success.
howling British  
/ ˈhaʊlɪŋ /

adjective

  1. informal (prenominal) (intensifier)

    a howling success

    a howling error
"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

Other Word Forms

  • howlingly adverb

Etymology

Origin of howling

1250–1300; Middle English houlinge (gerund); howl, -ing 2

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

"To find wolf kills locally, ravens likely use short-range cues, like monitoring wolf behavior or listening to wolf howling," says Loretto.

From Science Daily • Mar. 19, 2026

Every trip down and back left his lungs howling.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 11, 2026

Ms McCullough said: "He was so loud. He was howling, crying and screaming."

From BBC • Mar. 5, 2026

This felt like a room in which the howling winds of nothing were totally emblematic of where we are in the law right now.

From Slate • Jan. 21, 2026

Inside, the howling winds quieted to a dull roar, and though the leaves and limbs shook, Clare knew they would hold.

From "The Undead Fox of Deadwood Forest" by Aubrey Hartman

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.