With a scream, the spectators scattered.
Source: tatoeba (20939)
Scream
/skɹiːm/
Synonyms for "scream" (208 found)
Ranked by relevance and common usage.
Closest matches (42)
Strong matches (62)
Related words (104)
pipeplaintplanctusplaypointprotestpulerallying cryraverib ticklerriotroarrumblescreakscreechshoutshriekshrillsibilatesick joke
Show 50 more words
Choosing the right synonym
- Closest matches in this entry: screech, shriek, alarm, alarm cry, alerting cry.
- Sentence evidence is available for scream, so synonym choice can be checked against real usage rather than a flat word list.
- Ranking signals come from wordnet, opengloss, moby, derived_reverse, and related lexical sources.
Synonym selection checklist
- Match the part of speech before comparing meanings.
- Check whether the synonym changes intensity, formality, or emotional tone.
- Read the replacement inside the full sentence, not just beside "scream".
- Prefer the clearest word over the most unusual word when writing for speed or comprehension.
When not to replace "scream"
Keep "scream" when the sentence already sounds natural, when a synonym would add unintended emphasis, or when readers need the most familiar wording. A synonym should clarify or sharpen the message, not simply make the sentence look more varied.
If two options seem close, choose the one that best matches the audience and purpose of the sentence.
Replacement workflow
1. Preserve meaning
Choose a synonym only if it keeps the core idea of "scream" intact in the sentence you are editing.
2. Tune tone
Check whether the replacement sounds more formal, casual, emotional, technical, or forceful than the original word.
3. Re-read context
Read the full sentence after the swap. Keep the synonym only when the sentence becomes clearer or more precise.
Review note: Synonym lists are ranked with lexical data and reviewed for practical writing value. Use the comparison notes, sentence evidence, and source labels together; a high-ranking synonym can still be wrong when the audience, register, or grammar changes.
Final fit check
After choosing a replacement for "scream", read the sentence once for meaning and once for rhythm. The best synonym should feel natural in the full sentence, not only accurate in a word list.
If the synonym makes the sentence slower, vaguer, or more dramatic than intended, keep "scream" or choose a simpler alternative from the closest-match group.
Related word relations
OpenGloss and ConceptNet supply richer edges like generalizations, collocations, and derivations.
More general
33 entriesShowing 16 of 33 words.
More specific
15 entriesCollocations
9 entriesbloodcurdling screamhigh pitched screamloud screampiercing screamscream of fearscream of painscream queenshrill screamterrifying scream
Inflections
3 entriesDerivations
6 entriessimilar
7 entriesTranslations
129 translations across 66 languages.
Afrikaans
1 entries- skreeu verb (to make the sound of a scream)
Arabic
3 entries- زَعَّق verb (to make the sound of a scream)
- صَرَخَ verb (to make the sound of a scream)
- صَرَّخ verb (to make the sound of a scream)
Azerbaijani
2 entries- bağırmaq verb (to make the sound of a scream)
- qışqırmaq verb (to make the sound of a scream)
Basque
1 entries- oihukatu verb (to make the sound of a scream)
Bengali
1 entries- চিল্লানি verb (to make the sound of a scream)
Breton
2 entries- choual verb (to make the sound of a scream)
- krial verb (to make the sound of a scream)
Bulgarian
4 entries- викам verb (to make the sound of a scream)
- извикам verb (to make the sound of a scream)
- изкрещя verb (to make the sound of a scream)
- крещя verb (to make the sound of a scream)
Catalan
2 entries- cridar verb (to make the sound of a scream)
- xisclar verb (to make the sound of a scream)
Central Kurdish
1 entries- قیژاندن verb (to make the sound of a scream)
Cherokee
1 entries- ᎨᏡᎲᏍᎦ verb (to make the sound of a scream)
Chinese Mandarin
3 entries- 叫喊 verb (to make the sound of a scream)
- 嗷叫 verb (to make the sound of a scream)
- 尖叫 verb (to make the sound of a scream)
Crimean Tatar
1 entries- cekirmek verb (to make the sound of a scream)
Czech
3 entries- ječet verb (to make the sound of a scream)
- křičet verb (to make the sound of a scream)
- vykřiknout verb (to make the sound of a scream)
Danish
1 entries- skrige verb (to make the sound of a scream)
Dutch
1 entries- schreeuwen verb (to make the sound of a scream)
Egyptian
1 entries- s-b-H-bH-A2 verb (to make the sound of a scream)
Esperanto
2 entries- krii verb (to make the sound of a scream)
- kriĉi verb (to make the sound of a scream)
Estonian
2 entries- hüüdma verb (to make the sound of a scream)
- karjuma verb (to make the sound of a scream)
Faroese
1 entries- skríggja verb (to make the sound of a scream)
Finnish
2 entries- huutaa verb (to make the sound of a scream)
- kirkua verb (to make the sound of a scream)
French
1 entries- crier verb (to make the sound of a scream)
German
1 entries- schreien verb (to make the sound of a scream)
Greek
4 entries- κραυγάζω verb (to make the sound of a scream)
- ξεφωνίζω verb (to make the sound of a scream)
- ουρλιάζω verb (to make the sound of a scream)
- σκούζω verb (to make the sound of a scream)
Gujarati
1 entries- ચીસ પાડવી verb (to make the sound of a scream)
Hebrew
1 entries- צרח verb (to make the sound of a scream)
Hungarian
3 entries- ordít verb (to make the sound of a scream)
- sikít verb (to make the sound of a scream)
- visít verb (to make the sound of a scream)
Icelandic
1 entries- öskra verb (to make the sound of a scream)
Ido
1 entries- klamar verb (to make the sound of a scream)
Interlingua
1 entries- critar verb (to make the sound of a scream)
Irish
1 entries- scread verb (to make the sound of a scream)
Italian
3 entries- gridare verb (to make the sound of a scream)
- sbraitare verb (to make the sound of a scream)
- urlare verb (to make the sound of a scream)
Japanese
4 entries- キャーと叫ぶ verb (to make the sound of a scream)
- 喚く verb (to make the sound of a scream)
- 怒鳴り付ける verb (to make the sound of a scream)
- 悲鳴を上げる verb (to make the sound of a scream)
Korean
1 entries- 소리지르다 verb (to make the sound of a scream)
Latin
2 entries- clāmō verb (to make the sound of a scream)
- vōciferor verb (to make the sound of a scream)
Lithuanian
1 entries- rėkti verb (to make the sound of a scream)
Malay
1 entries- jerit verb (to make the sound of a scream)
Malayalam
1 entries- അലറുക verb (to make the sound of a scream)
Maltese
1 entries- werżaq verb (to make the sound of a scream)
Māori
4 entries- koe verb (to make the sound of a scream)
- koekoe verb (to make the sound of a scream)
- koekoe verb (to make the sound of a scream)
- kē verb (to make the sound of a scream)
Northern Ohlone
1 entries- 'iuqí verb (to make the sound of a scream)
Northern Sami
2 entries- biškut verb (to make the sound of a scream)
- čeargut verb (to make the sound of a scream)
Norwegian
2 entries- hyle verb (to make the sound of a scream)
- skrike verb (to make the sound of a scream)
Occitan
2 entries- cridar verb (to make the sound of a scream)
- sisclar verb (to make the sound of a scream)
Old English
1 entries- hrīeman verb (to make the sound of a scream)
Oromo
1 entries- iyyuu verb (to make the sound of a scream)
Ottoman Turkish
2 entries- سسلنمك verb (to make the sound of a scream)
- چاغرمق verb (to make the sound of a scream)
Papiamentu
1 entries- grità verb (to make the sound of a scream)
Plautdietsch
1 entries- schrieen verb (to make the sound of a scream)
Polish
4 entries- krzyczeć verb (to make the sound of a scream)
- krzyknąć verb (to make the sound of a scream)
- wrzasnąć verb (to make the sound of a scream)
- wrzeszczeć verb (to make the sound of a scream)
Portuguese
2 entries- berrar verb (to make the sound of a scream)
- gritar verb (to make the sound of a scream)
Romanian
3 entries- striga verb (to make the sound of a scream)
- urla verb (to make the sound of a scream)
- țipa verb (to make the sound of a scream)
Russian
1 entries- крича́ть verb (to make the sound of a scream)
Scottish Gaelic
3 entries- ràn verb (to make the sound of a scream)
- sgal verb (to make the sound of a scream)
- sgreuch verb (to make the sound of a scream)
Serbo-Croatian
4 entries- kričati verb (to make the sound of a scream)
- vikati verb (to make the sound of a scream)
- викати verb (to make the sound of a scream)
- кричати verb (to make the sound of a scream)
Sicilian
1 entries- buciari verb (to make the sound of a scream)
Slovene
2 entries- kričati verb (to make the sound of a scream)
- zakričati verb (to make the sound of a scream)
Spanish
4 entries- alaridar verb (to make the sound of a scream)
- baladrar verb (to make the sound of a scream)
- desgalillarse verb (to make the sound of a scream)
- desgañifarse verb (to make the sound of a scream)
Swahili
1 entries- kulia verb (to make the sound of a scream)
Swedish
2 entries- gasta verb (to make the sound of a scream)
- skrika verb (to make the sound of a scream)
Tagalog
1 entries- umiyák verb (to make the sound of a scream)
Tamil
1 entries- கத்து verb (to make the sound of a scream)
Tibetan
2 entries- ཀི་སྒྲ་རྒྱབ་པ verb (to make the sound of a scream)
- སྐད་ཤོར verb (to make the sound of a scream)
Turkish
3 entries- bağırmak verb (to make the sound of a scream)
- haykırmak verb (to make the sound of a scream)
- çığlık atmak verb (to make the sound of a scream)
Turkmen
1 entries- arlamak verb (to make the sound of a scream)
Ukrainian
2 entries- вереща́ти verb (to make the sound of a scream)
- кричати verb (to make the sound of a scream)
Volapük
1 entries- luvokädön verb (to make the sound of a scream)
Sample sentences
23 total sentences available.
The sound of an awful scream made him shudder.
Source: tatoeba (30345)
Then, with a final, terrible scream, the monster flung itself off the mountain to its death on the rocks below.
Source: tatoeba (43183)
What a scream!
Source: tatoeba (243940)
Showing 4 of 23 available sentences.
Common questions
What are the closest synonyms for "scream"?
Closest matches include screech, shriek, alarm, alarm cry, alerting cry.
How should I check whether a synonym fits "scream"?
Compare the replacement against real sentence context. This entry includes sample sentences so you can check tone, grammar, and meaning before swapping words.