shrieking 1 of 2

adjective

as in shrill
having a high musical pitch or range shrieking horns of impatient drivers stuck in a traffic jam

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

shrieking

2 of 2

verb

present participle of shriek
as in screaming
to cry out loudly and emotionally the children shrieked with excitement

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of shrieking
Verb
On the lawn, a mechanical bull bounced shrieking children into the air. — Aidan McLaughlin, Vanity Fair, 8 Oct. 2026 The addition of the electric guitar, drums and Jack White’s shrieking vocals transformed it into a rock song, while also keeping its signature folksiness. — Stephanie Sengwe, PEOPLE, 28 Aug. 2026 The other customers cowered in the corners, while crowds formed at the windows outside, shrieking and recording the scene on their phones. — Robert F. Worth, The Atlantic, 10 July 2026 Kids are shrieking through their favorite splash pads, faces sticky with Bomb Pop juice and joy. — Mark Glende, Twin Cities, 2 July 2026 Raph and Grant keep tasting wasabi Oreos, with Raph shrieking and Grant grimacing. — Tasha Robinson, Vulture, 16 June 2026 Now, if there was just some way to go back and re-edit a supercut without Kate Capshaw's squealing and shrieking. — Chris Nashawaty, Entertainment Weekly, 13 June 2026 Lyra spent hours running and spinning through the surf, shrieking with joy when the waves caught her. — Brianna Randall, Forbes.com, 30 May 2026 But in the early days of the Maniacs, everyone swears that Merchant was a shrieking dervish during shows, exorcising her teenage demons on the stage of every bar in the Rust Belt. — Dan Kois, Pitchfork, 17 May 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for shrieking
  1. shrill
  2. screaming
  3. squealing
  4. yelling
Adjective
  • With a soprano voice that’s sharp but never shrill, O’Donovan can levitate a heartfelt melody over just about any kind of accompaniment.
    — Mark Jenkins, Washington Post, 30 Sep. 2026
  • When Caleb Hammer, a thirty-one-year-old personal-finance YouTuber, gets particularly exasperated, his voice enters a shrill upper register.
    — Brady Brickner-Wood, New Yorker, 28 Sep. 2026
Definition of shrill
Verb
  • Warren joked, as several audience members had been screaming to hear his hit during his set.
    — Althea Legaspi, Rolling Stone, 24 Oct. 2026
  • Four pledges at a Texas State University fraternity were arrested on Tuesday after an 18-year-old was allegedly forced into a pickup truck and heard screaming, according to police.
    — Adam Sabes, FOXNews.com, 23 Oct. 2026
Definition of screaming
Verb
  • Each of its elements began, long ago, in the loamy earth, hatching and creeping or slipping, slick and squealing, from the womb of the mind.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 10 Sep. 2026
  • Video shot by OnScene TV on August 9 showed people rushing in and out of the store, some carrying merchandise, as roaring engines and squealing tires are heard in the background.
    — David Zahniser, Los Angeles Times, 16 Aug. 2026
Definition of squealing
Verb
  • In 2015, she was suspended for a week after a video surfaced of her yelling at and belittling a towing company employee.
    — Chuck Schilken, Los Angeles Times, 23 Oct. 2026
  • Officers are then heard yelling again, but the car appears to move toward at least one of the officers before Foster shoots into the car, video shows.
    — Dalia Faheid, CNN Money, 23 Oct. 2026
Definition of yelling

Browse Nearby Words

shrieked
shrieking
shrieks
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Shrieking.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/shrieking. Accessed 28 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of grotesque

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World

Why do we 'bury the lede?'

'Za' and 9 Other Words to Help You Win at SCRABBLE
See More

Popular

See More

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
different halloween monsters in silhouette
A Monstrous Vocab Quiz Words That Go Bump in the Night
See All