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Added 9 October 2026

shriek

/ʃɹiːk/ noun

In Latin: quirītō, strīdō Wiktionary

noun Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about shriek at Wordnik → Where our words come from →

A sharp, shrill outcry or scream; a shrill wild cry caused by sudden or extreme terror, pain, or the like.
An exclamation mark.

verb

To utter a loud, sharp, shrill sound or cry, as do some birds and beasts; to scream, as in a sudden fright, in horror or anguish.
To utter sharply and shrilly; to utter in or with a shriek or shrieks.

Origin

From obsolete shrick (1567), shreke, variants of earlier screak, skricke (before 1500), from Middle English scrycke, from a North Germanic/Scandinavian language (compare Swedish skrika, Danish skrige, Icelandic skríkja), from Proto-Germanic *skrīkijaną, *skrik- (compare English screech). More at screech.

From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)

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