shrill
adjective /ʃrɪl/
/ʃrɪl/
(comparative shriller, superlative shrillest)
- (of sounds or voices) very high and loud, in an unpleasant way synonym piercing
- The PE teacher’s shrill voice rang out across the school fields.
- The shrill cries of children broke the silence.
- loud and determined but often unreasonable
- shrill demands/protests
Word Originlate Middle English: of Germanic origin; related to Low German schrell ‘sharp in tone or taste’.