as in to scream
to cry out loudly and emotionally
the children shrieked with excitement
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Recent Examples of shriek
A.a. Dowd, Vulture, 3 Oct. 2025
Guadagnino encourages our doubts, shooting Maggie in exaggerated horror-movie closeups set to the doomy bass notes and shrieking winds of Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross’s score.
—Justin Chang, New Yorker, 3 Oct. 2025
Melissa Fleur Afshar, MSNBC Newsweek, 29 Aug. 2025
From there, most of the trailer consists of rapid-fire flashes of unsettling imagery, including a man yelling with blood dripping from his mouth, muddy human footsteps on a hardwood floor, blood rinsing down a bathtub drain, and a distressed shriek from Indy.
—Wesley Stenzel, EW.com, 23 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for shriek
Verb
Been there, shrieked at that — but give the Normans credit for leaning into the mean-spirited spirit of the endeavor with some groan- and cheer-worthy fatalities, including a POV shot from the perspective of a witch’s broomstick.
—A.a. Dowd, Vulture, 3 Oct. 2025
Guadagnino encourages our doubts, shooting Maggie in exaggerated horror-movie closeups set to the doomy bass notes and shrieking winds of Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross’s score.
—Justin Chang, New Yorker, 3 Oct. 2025
Noun
The rapid approach of the animal—seemingly out of nowhere—prompted shrieks and a chaotic dash as tourists rushed to safety.
—Melissa Fleur Afshar, MSNBC Newsweek, 29 Aug. 2025
From there, most of the trailer consists of rapid-fire flashes of unsettling imagery, including a man yelling with blood dripping from his mouth, muddy human footsteps on a hardwood floor, blood rinsing down a bathtub drain, and a distressed shriek from Indy.
—Wesley Stenzel, EW.com, 23 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for shriek
Recent Examples of Synonyms for shriek
Verb
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Chuck and Jim loved the sounds of spaghetti westerns, an influence instantly recognizable in the war-cry screaming sound that permeates his score.—
Bear McCreary,
HollywoodReporter,
7 Nov. 2025
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Left to die, breathless and alone, Invisigal chokes while Robert screams from the other end of the comms.—
Christopher Cruz,
Rolling Stone,
7 Nov. 2025
Noun
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That frenetic screech of packing tape echoing in your emptying home may send your blood pressure soaring.—
USA TODAY,
USA Today,
22 Oct. 2025
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So rang the delighted screech of a young Manchester United fan outside the Progress with Unity Stadium, an hour before United’s Women’s Champions League debut against Valarenga on Wednesday night.—
Megan Feringa,
New York Times,
9 Oct. 2025
Verb
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The driveway was already full of other cars arriving and various parents and kids taking photos like crazy and squealing.—
Rachel Raposas,
PEOPLE,
7 Nov. 2025
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One of the first major highlights showed the moment Mei Xiang birthed a squealing Xiao Qi Ji and cradled her newborn cub.—
Sudiksha Kochi,
USA Today,
2 Oct. 2025
Noun
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The Ochi speak, not with words, but sounds—melodic shrills that reverberate in the air and can be interpreted on an emotional level.—
DeVonne Goode,
Parents,
18 Apr. 2025
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What's more, this door alarm features three sensitivity levels and emits a loud shrill that will instantly scare an intruder away.—
Stephanie Gray,
Travel + Leisure,
5 Jan. 2025
Verb
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While in the parking lot, Veliz reportedly drove against traffic and yelled out gang slogans.—
Robert Salonga,
Mercury News,
7 Nov. 2025
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Whoever dispatched that ambulance might be one of many employees at the Department of Emergency Communications who have felt uncomfortable, yelled at and trapped between their calling to help people and what several current and former dispatchers have called a hostile work environment.—
Kirsten Fiscus,
Nashville Tennessean,
6 Nov. 2025
Noun
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Her bottom lip dropped and a tiny squeak emerged.—
Carly Tagen-Dye,
PEOPLE,
20 Oct. 2025
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This isn’t like missing a 2-foot putt, or getting posterized, or letting a groundball squeak through your legs or blowing a tire on the ice.—
Zak Keefer,
New York Times,
11 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Doing this yelp as a human may work when training certain dogs, but the AKC advises that with some puppies, this could actually get the puppy more worked up and likely to bite.—
Rachael O'Connor,
MSNBC Newsweek,
21 Oct. 2025
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The complacent faces of phony mediums swirl in my head, along with unsettling spirit photographs and images of puppies that had died with a sudden yelp for no apparent reason.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
20 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Shriek.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/shriek. Accessed 11 Nov. 2025.
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