trilling 1 of 2

Definition of trillingnext

trilling

2 of 2

verb

present participle of trill
as in quavering
to sing with the alternation of two musical tones a bluebird trilled outside our window

Synonyms & Similar Words

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 trilling
Verb
In a now-viral clip, Carpenter overheard someone from the crowd trilling during her set for Weekend 1 and asked if the audience member was yodeling. Natalie Oganesyan, Deadline, 11 Apr. 2026 Sounds of loud trilling shouts after silent hunts, and singing. Literary Hub, 3 Nov. 2025 The blast furnace of volcanoes has fallen silent, replaced by birdsong trilling from the branches and echoing through a garden of exotic stone. Roger Naylor, AZCentral.com, 29 Aug. 2025 Expect to marvel at saddles blanketed in blueberries and multi-hued wildflowers, marmots trilling their warnings, ibex perched on rocky spines, and neon critters that wiggle and hop underfoot. Wendy Altschuler, Forbes.com, 16 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for trilling
Adjective
  • Nine’s creaking, warbling cadence makes for a Thug/Carti hybrid that’s distinct but still close enough to be familiar and palatable.
    Olivier Lafontant, Pitchfork, 16 Apr. 2026
  • The song may be six minutes long, but the circuitous lope of his acoustic-guitar strum and low throb of his warbling feel eternal, like the type of tune Sisyphus might have hummed to keep himself company.
    Craig Jenkins, Vulture, 2 Dec. 2025
Verb
  • The governor, Tim Walz, defeated for the Vice Presidency, gets on TV, his voice quavering, saying the right things, speaking the truth, and advising courage.
    Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 29 Jan. 2026
  • The combination of quavering flutes and solemn, unfamiliar corridors is disquieting.
    Hazlitt, Hazlitt, 10 Dec. 2025
Verb
  • Messi stood in the midfield looking equally confused and irritated with his hands on his hips, looking over at the North stands, where La Familia was chanting.
    Miami Herald, Miami Herald, 19 May 2026
  • The young, mostly male group did their chanting under the eye of Israeli police, who had cordoned off parts of the plaza for journalists to cover the event safely.
    Julia Frankel, Los Angeles Times, 14 May 2026
Adjective
  • Why did this theme feel particularly resonant for your Paris debut?
    Y-Jean Mun-Delsalle, Forbes.com, 19 May 2026
  • To contain and observe those elephants, the villagers use firecrackers, electric fences, and – in one image Shah finds particularly resonant – eyes painted onto tree trunks, a human appeal to the forest to look back and see them.
    Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 18 May 2026
Adjective
  • The pacing is erratic and the sonorous voice-over narration doesn’t help either.
    Randy Myers, Mercury News, 13 May 2026
  • Metals are particularly sonorous, as anyone who has been around toddlers (and pots and pans) can testify.
    New Atlas, New Atlas, 2 May 2026
Adjective
  • The campaign unfolds as a romantic American pop star fantasy, where soft vintage femininity meets Western Americana and melodic storytelling.
    Lisa Lockwood, Footwear News, 13 May 2026
  • Tracks may start with classy piano, but subtlety is almost never the end product; the group wields sidechains like a bandolier, extracting the maximum possible velocity in every kick while retaining the gooey melodic centre.
    Nathan Evans, Pitchfork, 12 May 2026
Adjective
  • Briefly elevated into an unlikely attraction, he is soon displaced by a more appealing performer and becomes consumed by the need to reclaim that fleeting sense of being seen.
    Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 17 May 2026
  • None of it is particularly politically appealing.
    Kelly Phillips Erb, Forbes.com, 16 May 2026
Adjective
  • But as the evidence mounts, scientists continue to puzzle over the pleasant surprise—how are vaccines that target specific pathogens inadvertently shielding our minds from deterioration?
    Beth Mole, ArsTechnica, 15 May 2026
  • Last year, against the Minnesota Frost, was a bit more of a pleasant surprise after a one-goal regular season campaign by Leslie, who spent two seasons between Toronto and Ottawa as a useful depth player.
    Hailey Salvian, New York Times, 15 May 2026

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Cite this Entry

“Trilling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/trilling. Accessed 22 May. 2026.

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