curdle

UK: /ˈkɜː^rd^əl/ US: /ˈkɝdəl/ ,(kûr′dl)

Inflections of 'curdle' (v): (⇒ conjugate)

curdles

v 3rd person singular

curdling

v pres p

curdled

v past

curdled

v past p

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

cur•dle /ˈkɜrdəl/   v., -dled, -dling. 

1. to change into curd;
   turn sour: [no object]
   After a week the cream will begin to curdle.
   [~ + object]
   The acid in that coffee will curdle the milk you put in.

Idioms

2. Idioms curdle one's blood or make one's blood curdle, to fill one with horror or fear:
   Those terrifying screams made my blood curdle.

cur•dler, n. [countable]

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025

cur•dle  (kûr′dl), v.t., v.i., -dled, -dling. 

1. to change into curd;
   coagulate;
   congeal.
2. to spoil;
   turn sour.
3. to go wrong;
   turn bad or fail:
   Their friendship began to curdle as soon as they became business rivals.
4. Idioms curdle the or one's blood, to fill a person with horror or fear;
   terrify:
   a scream that curdled the blood.

• curd + -le 1580–90

cur′dler, n. 

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

curdle / ˈkɜːd^əl/ verb

1. to turn or cause to turn into curd
2. curdle someone's blood ⇒ to fill someone with fear

Etymology: 16th Century (crudled, past participle): from curd