shrill

English

Etymology

Middle English shrille.

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ʃɹɪl/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɪl

Adjective

shrill (comparative shriller, superlative shrillest)

1. High-pitched and piercing.

   She spoke in a shrill voice.

2. Sharp or keen to the senses.

Translations

high-pitched and piercing

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 尖聲的 (cmn), 尖声的 (cmn) (jiānshēng de), 刺耳的 (cmn) (cì'ěr de)

• Finnish: kimeä (fi), kimakka (fi)
• French: strident (fr)

• German: schrill (de)
• Japanese: 甲高い (ja) (かんだかい, kandakai)
• Portuguese: estridente (pt) m and f
• Russian: пронзительный (ru) (pronzítelʹnyj)

Sharp or keen to the senses

• Dutch: scherp (nl)
• German: scharf (de)

Verb

shrill (third-person singular simple present shrills, present participle shrilling, simple past and past participle shrilled)

1. To make a shrill noise.

Translations

make a shrill noise

• Finnish: kirkaista (fi)

Noun

shrill (plural shrills)

1. A shrill sound.

   (Can we find and add a quotation of Spenser to this entry?)