Verb The birds were shrieking in the trees. She shrieked when she saw a mouse. Noun the shriek of the train's brakes
Recent Examples on the Web
Verb
Students shriek at news of acceptance and burst into tears over rejections. Lovia Gyarkye, The Hollywood Reporter, 22 May 2022 Conservative activists shriek about preserving the sanctity of the sport, even though the vast majority have never cared about women’s swimming and probably couldn’t name another current female competitor. Robert Gehrke, The Salt Lake Tribune, 22 Mar. 2022 But the options were scant: motel rooms or apartments way too small for a family of nine, with dogs and a macaw that liked to shriek at random and eat crown molding. Madalyn Amato, Los Angeles Times, 6 Aug. 2021 While many business owners shriek at the thought of them, there are tactful ways to handle bad online reviews, save the customer from leaving for the competition, and even offer you a chance to learn how to make your product or service better. Rebecca Kowalewicz, Forbes, 10 Mar. 2021 Terrified onlookers shriek as the bison slows its charge and moves in to inspect its curious company.Sunset Magazine, 4 Sep. 2020 For us, watching soccer together offers an opportunity not only to shriek and cuss and, very occasionally, dash a fist against a wall, but also to pool our emotions as father and son. Tunku Varadarajan, WSJ, 17 June 2020 Other highlights show Gaga’s knack for tunes in which incongruous-seeming passages—silky one moment, shrieking the next—fit together deliciously. Spencer Kornhaber, The Atlantic, 1 June 2020 Bartholet frets that homeschoolers might grow up not even minding the gendered nature of household labor enough to shriek about it in a letter to Dear Prudence. Kyle Smith, National Review, 23 Apr. 2020
Noun
Before the doors open, there are few panicked screams — just the familiar muffled shriek of a rush hour train on its tracks, punctuated by moans of pain.New York Times, 12 Apr. 2022 Even if that note does not involve a shriek from hell. Bryan Alexander, USA TODAY, 10 July 2022 What follows is a piercing shriek to seal this lively break-up jam, fueled by a St. Vincent-like sense of playful assuredness. Spin Staff, SPIN, 3 June 2022 The work depicts a haunting, mysterious figure with hands on either side of its face, its mouth open in an apparent shriek. Sarah Kuta, Smithsonian Magazine, 10 June 2022 Friends greet one another with kisses on the cheek; there’s an occasional shriek from children running around playing; out in the parking lot, several young guys vape and smoke cigarettes.Los Angeles Times, 27 Apr. 2022 The secret packs great tension, as Jeongok leads Sangok on a leisurely round of strolls and visits that, for the actress, virtually shriek with urgency. Richard Brody, The New Yorker, 5 May 2022 At least two more noises come, followed by another shriek. Elizabeth Wolfe, Jason Hanna And Melissa Alonso, CNN, 12 May 2022 Estelle Harris, the New York actress with the unforgettable shriek who hilariously nagged her son (played by Jason Alexander) and husband (Jerry Stiller) on Seinfeld, has died. Maureen Lee Lenker, The Hollywood Reporter, 2 Apr. 2022 See More
Word History
Etymology
Verb
Middle English shreken, probably irregular from shriken to shriek; akin to Old Norse skrækja to shriek