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scream

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Dictionary: scream   (skrēm) pronunciation
 

v., screamed, scream·ing, screams.

v.intr.
  1. To utter a long loud piercing cry, as from pain or fear.
  2. To make a loud piercing sound: Jet planes screamed through the air.
  3. To speak or write in a heated hysterical manner.
  4. To have or produce a startling effect: The outlandish costume screamed with clashing colors.
v.tr.

To utter or say in or as if in a screaming voice.

n.
  1. A long, loud, piercing cry or sound.
  2. Informal. One that is hilariously or ridiculously funny: The new play was a scream.

[Middle English screamen, possibly of Scandinavian origin; akin to Old Norse scræma.]

screamingly scream'ing·ly adv.
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Thesaurus: scream
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verb

  1. To utter a long, loud, piercing cry, as of pain or fright: screak, screech, shriek, shrill. See sounds/pleasant sounds/unpleasant sounds/neutral sounds or silence.
  2. To proclaim in a blatantly startling way: blare, shout, shriek. See show/hide.

noun

  1. A long, loud, piercing cry or sound: screak, screech, shriek. See sounds/pleasant sounds/unpleasant sounds/neutral sounds or silence.
  2. Something or someone uproariously funny or absurd: absurdity. Informal hoot, joke, laugh. Slang gas, howl, panic, riot. Idioms: a laugh a minute. See laughter.

 
Antonyms: scream
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n

Definition: outcry
Antonyms: whisper

n

Definition: something that is very funny
Antonyms: bore, seriousness

v

Definition: cry out
Antonyms: be quiet, whisper


 
Word Tutor: scream
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pronunciation

IN BRIEF: A loud cry, often caused by fear or pain.

pronunciation When a parent decides to act like one of the children and begins to scream and yell at the child, all opportunity for teaching is lost. — Unknown.

 
Wikipedia: Vociferation
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A painting by Edvard Munch entitled Skrik (Scream).

A scream, shout, holler, vociferation, or yell is a loud human audio vocalization in which the person makes a loud cry by expelling air from the lungs.

Contents

Motivation

These exclamations may be motivated by extreme emotion such as fear, excitement, surprise, anger or pain.

Fear

When human beings are taken over by extreme fear they may scream for various and sometimes intermingled reasons. These reasons include scaring away an attacker or calling attention to themselves for help. Another reason of screaming caused by fear may be from a practical joke and may cause embarrassment.

Happiness

People may yell out when overcome by joy or excitement. People may scream when winning a prize or meeting a loved one after a long interlude.

Pain

When people suffer from injuries which are very painful such as broken bones or gun shot wounds, they often scream in pain or surprise. This may be a vocalization used to deal with the shock of the incident or perhaps an evolutionary adaptation used to warn others of danger.

Surprise

When people are not expecting something and it comes suddenly they are surprised. If someone comes up to you and jumps on you or talks in your ear when you do not know they are going to do this, most of the people scream in surprise or shock.

Two people arguing in a "shouting match".

Purpose

Dialogue

Some people, when arguing begin to raise their voices to the point that they are screaming at each other in anger while continuing their debate exchange. Terminology includes "shouting match".

Military

Drill instructors frequently use this tactic and its associated fear and intimidation to train recruits whilst fostering obedience and expedience.

A USMC drill instructor yelling.

Music

Sometimes, screaming or louder-than-normal vocals are used in music, and are an increasingly common vocal technique.

Audio

The decibel levels of scream pitches may be very high, and this has become an issue in the sport of tennis, particularly with regards to Maria Sharapova's loud tennis grunts which have been measured as high as 101.2 decibels.[1] The human range for screaming in decibels is between 0 and 112.8 which is the world record held by Alan Myatt.[2]The pitch varies depending on the justification for a scream.

Popular Culture

The Wilhelm scream is film's most familiar scream and has been edited into many movies since 1951.

See also

References

  1. ^ Tennis grunters told to stop the racket, by Linda Pearce, The Age.com, retrieved December 19, 2007
  2. ^ Quiet night's sleep for 'world's loudest man', BBC Health News, June 19, 2001

 
Translations: Scream
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Dansk (Danish)
v. intr. - skrige, hyle
v. tr. - skrige hyle
n. - skrig, hyl, hylen, ustyrligt morsomt, til at dø af grin over

idioms:

  • scream one's head off    skrige i vilden sky

Nederlands (Dutch)
gillen, schreeuwen, gil, schreeuw

Français (French)
v. intr. - crier, pousser des cris, hurler, grincer, crisser, (fig) crier (une couleur)
v. tr. - (lit) crier, hurler, (fig, Journ) annoncer (en titre)
n. - cri (perçant), hurlement, grincement, crissement, éclats, personne amusante

idioms:

  • scream one's head off    crier à tue-tête

Deutsch (German)
n. - Schrei, Heulen
v. - schreien, heulen, kreischen

idioms:

  • scream one's head off    wie verrückt schreien

Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - κραυγή, ξεφωνητό, (καθομ.) οτιδήποτε ξεκαρδιστικό
v. - ξεφωνίζω, ουρλιάζω, ξεκαρδίζομαι στα γέλια, (καθομ.) είμαι κραυγαλέος

idioms:

  • scream one's head off    ξεκαρδίζομαι στα γέλια

Italiano (Italian)
strillare, strillo

idioms:

  • scream one's head off    urlare a squarciagola

Português (Portuguese)
n. - grito (m)
v. - gritar

idioms:

  • scream one's head off    gritar muito alto

Русский (Russian)
пронзительно кричать, неудержимо смеяться, выкрикивать, резать глаз, пронзительный крик, уморительно смешной человек/слу- чай/анекдот и т.п.

idioms:

  • scream one's head off    зайтись от крика, извопиться

Español (Spanish)
v. intr. - gritar, chillar, vociferar, pitar, ser chillón, llamativo
v. tr. - expresar con chillidos o gritos
n. - chillido, grito, pitido, persona o cosa ridícula, que hace morir de risa

idioms:

  • scream one's head off    estar a grito pelado, gritar a voz en cuello

Svenska (Swedish)
n. - skrik, skri, tjut
v. - skrika, skria, tjuta

中文(简体)(Chinese (Simplified))
尖叫, 尖啸, 大笑, 尖叫着说, 大叫大嚷着要求, 尖叫声, 喊叫声

idioms:

  • scream one's head off    大笑不止, 大喊大叫

中文(繁體)(Chinese (Traditional))
v. intr. - 尖叫, 尖嘯, 大笑
v. tr. - 尖叫著說, 大叫大嚷著要求
n. - 尖叫聲, 喊叫聲

idioms:

  • scream one's head off    大笑不止, 大喊大叫

한국어 (Korean)
v. intr. - 소리치다, 깔깔대다, 새된 목소리를 지르며 거칠게 연기하다
v. tr. - 새된 소리로 말하다, 소리질러 ~한 상태로 되다, 절규하다
n. - 비명, 절규, 몹시 유쾌한 사람

日本語 (Japanese)
v. - 金切り声をあげる, 悲鳴をあげる, ギャーギャー泣く, かん高い音をたてる, 鋭く鳴く, 騒ぎたてる
n. - 金切り声, 悲鳴

idioms:

  • scream bloody murder    喚声を上げる
  • scream blue murder    喚声を上げる
  • scream one's head off    喚声を上げる

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(الاسم) صرخه, صيحه (فعل) يصرخ, يصيح‏

עברית (Hebrew)
v. intr. - ‮צעק, זעק, צחק בקול רם, היה ברור לעין‬
v. tr. - ‮צעק, זעק, צרח, יילל‬
n. - ‮צעקה, זעקה, צריחה, יללה, דבר מצחיק, אדם משעשע‬


 
Best of the Web: scream
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American Sign Language
commtechlab.msu.edu
 
 
 

Did you mean: scream, Scream (Rock Band, '80s, '90s), Scream!, Scream (1996 Horror Film), Scream (film series), Scream (cipher), Scream (comics), Scream (2005 Album by Sarah Bettens) More...

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shriek
outcry
Hawke, Bob (Quotes By)

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