yowl

[ youl ]

verb (used without object)

1. to utter a long, distressful or dismal cry, as an animal or a person; howl.

noun

1. a yowling cry; a howl.

yowl

/ jaʊl /

verb

1. to express with or produce a loud mournful wail or cry; howl

noun

1. a loud mournful cry; wail or howl

Derived Forms

• ˈyowler, noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of yowl¹

1175–1225; Middle English yuhele, yule, youle, apparently from a cry of pain or distress yuhele; compare Old English geoh- (in geohthu grief )

Word History and Origins

Origin of yowl¹

C13: from Old Norse gaula; related to German jaulen; see yawl ²

Example Sentences

In one number, Swinton, who goes glossy-eyed to show the cracks in her high-fashion veneer, poses in a transparent rain slicker while bleating raw, yowling noises that blend with the despairing strings.

From Los Angeles Times

“Noid” was dense and menacing, Tyler’s flow somewhere between a growl and a yowl; “Darling, I” was light and whimsical but almost painfully yearning too.

From Los Angeles Times

“Freedom’s just another word for nothing left to lose,” Joplin sang in her signature blues-rock yowl — perhaps the best-known piece of wisdom in Kristofferson’s very wise catalog.

From Los Angeles Times

She was making her way from the parking lot to the hospital when she heard yowling coming from some bushes.

From Los Angeles Times

I yowled in fury and slashed at the beast, but my claws met nothing but air.

From Literature