Definition of ululate
ululated;
ululating
intransitive verb
:to utter a loud, usually protracted, high-pitched, rhythmical sound especially as an expression of sorrow, joy, celebration, or reverence :howl
- … eight singers took to the aisle, dancing with ferocious energy as the chorus sang, ululated and clapped in an exuberant, multisensory ode to joy.
- —Susan Saccoccia
- As soon as he said our mother's name, my sisters began to wail: keening, ululating cries, the Greek expression of sorrow for the dead.
- —Nicholas Gage
—
ululation
play \ˌəl-yə-ˈlā-shən, ˌyül-\ noun-
- As they rounded the tent the third time to the open doorway, they acknowledged the departure of the Old Woman with high-pitched trills and ululations…
- —Barbara A. Worley
-
- When women spot Maathai, they surround her, offering congratulations, bursting into cries of celebratory ululation, asking to snap a picture with her.
- —Judith Stone
