shrill

UK: /ˈʃrɪl/ US: /ʃrɪl/ ,(shril)

Inflections of 'shrill' (adj):

shriller

adj comparative

shrillest

adj superlative

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2025

shrill /ʃrɪl/   adj. 

1. high-pitched and piercing:
   a shrill cry.
2. annoyingly insistent or demanding;
   strident:
   their shrill demands for change.

v. 

3. to cry shrilly: [no object]
   to shrill at him.
   [~ + object]
   shrilling her anger at him.
   [used with quotations]
   "Right now!'' she shrilled.

n. [countable]

4. a shrill sound.

adv. 

5. in a shrill manner;
   shrilly.

shrill•ness, n. [uncountable]
shril•ly, adv.: 

The phone rang shrilly.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025

shrill  (shril), adj., -er, -est, v., n., adv. 
adj. 

1. high-pitched and piercing in sound quality:
   a shrill cry.
2. producing such a sound.
3. full of or characterized by such a sound:
   shrill music.
4. betraying some strong emotion or attitude in an exaggerated amount, as antagonism or defensiveness.
5. marked by great intensity;
   keen:
   the shrill, incandescent light of the exploding bomb.

v.t., v.i. 

6. to cry shrilly.

n. 

7. a shrill sound.

adv. 

8. in a shrill manner;
   shrilly.

• 1300–50; Middle English shrille (adjective, adjectival, verb, verbal); akin to Old English scrallettan to sound loudly; cognate with German schrill (adjective, adjectival), schrillen (verb, verbal); compare Old Norse skrīll rabble

shrill′ness, n. 
shril′ly, adv. 

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

shrill / ʃrɪl/ adjective

1. sharp and high-pitched in quality
2. emitting a sharp high-pitched sound

verb

1. to utter (words, sounds, etc) in a shrill tone

Etymology: 14th Century: probably from Old English scralletan; related to German schrill shrill, Dutch schrallen to shriek

ˈshrillness noun

ˈshrilly adverb