What does "shrill" mean?
A shrill sound.
Shrill
/ʃɹɪl/ adj, noun, verb
adj, noun, verb ·Common ·High school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A shrill sound.
- Grammar: shrill is listed as adj, noun, verb.
- Nearest alternatives: absonant, acerbic, acute, argute.
- Useful contrasts: lowish, mellifluous, plummy.
- Usage evidence: I was walking along the crowded street when all at once I heard a shrill cry.
How to use "shrill"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "shrill" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "shrill" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "shrill" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "shrill" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "shrill" is acting as adj, noun, verb in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "absonant" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "shrill", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A shrill sound.
"[W]hen at laſt / I heard a voyce, which loudly to me called, / That with ſuddein ſhrill I was appalled."
Verb
- 1 To make a shrill noise.
"And all wee dwell in deadly night, / O heauie herſe. / Breake we our pipes, that ſhrild as lowde as Larke, / O carefull verſe."
- 2 utter a shrill cry wordnet
Adjective
- 1 High-pitched and piercing.
"The woods rang with shrill cries of the birds."
- 2 Having a shrill voice.
""It is Miss Halliday!" cried the house-maid, as she opened the door. "And oh my," she added, looking back into the hall with a sorrowful face, "how bad she do look!" [...] "Oh, don't she look white!" cried a shrill girl with a baby in her arms."
- 3 Sharp or keen to the senses.
"Rather than shrill, feisty whites tasting of grass, green beans, gooseberry or pipi de chat (the somehow more polite French term for cat's pee), [Didier] Dagueneau's Sauvignons were statuesque, beautifully balanced wines with flavors reminiscent of citrus zests, apricot, fig, passion fruit and minerals."
- 4 Fierce, loud, strident. derogatory, especially, figuratively
"The clerk had, I'm afraid, a shrew of a wife, shrill, vehement, and fluent."
Adjective
- 1 of colors that are bright and gaudy wordnet
- 2 being sharply insistent on being heard wordnet
- 3 having or emitting a high-pitched and sharp tone or tones wordnet
Antonyms
Example
"I was walking along the crowded street when all at once I heard a shrill cry."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "shrill"?
Common synonyms include: absonant, acerbic, acute, argute, atonal, brassier.
How do you use "shrill" in a sentence?
I was walking along the crowded street when all at once I heard a shrill cry.
How do you pronounce "shrill"?
Pronounced /ʃɹɪl/.
Etymology
From Late Middle English schrille, shirle, shrille (“of a sound: high-pitched, piercing; producing such a sound”), possibly from the earlier shil, schille (“loud, resounding; high-pitched”), from Old English scill (“sonorous sounding”), of Germanic origin and probably ultimately imitative. The r in the word was introduced by analogy to Middle English skrīke, skrīken, scrēmen, possibly to avoid confusion with non-Anglian forms of schelle (modern English shell) where Old English scill (“sonorous sounding”) and scill (“shell”) existed. The word is cognate with Icelandic skella (“crash, bang, slam”), Low German schrell (“sharp in taste or tone”).