shrill
pronunciation
How to pronounce shrill in British English:
UK [ʃrɪl]
How to pronounce shrill in American English:
US [ʃrɪl]
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- Verb:
- utter a shrill cry
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- Adjective:
- high-pitched and sharp
Word Origin
- shrill (adj.)
- late 14c., schrylle "high-pitched, piercing" (of the voice), probably related to Old English scralletan "to sound loudly" and of imitative origin (compare Low German schrell, German schrill "piercing, shrill"). Related: Shrillness; shrilly (adv.).
- shrill (v.)
- "to sound shrilly," c. 1300, imitative (see shrill (adj.). Related: Shrilled; shrilling.
Antonym
Example
- 1. Neither the shrill nor the sanguine arguments can be dismissed out of hand .
- 2. What is new is that they are gaining traction beyond a shrill nativist minority .
- 3. The argument has gotten so shrill and divisive that I am bored by it .
- 4. It should not undermine that chance by becoming increasingly shrill about bogus trade issues .
- 5. Demonisation of china today , especially in america , can sometimes seem almost as shrill .