curdle

The light didn’t fade so much as curdle.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 10, 2026

A practicing Mormon, Coppins had no previous experience with gambling but quickly learned how easily the “joyful naivete” of his initial use “could curdle into delusion and compulsion.”

From Slate ● May 5, 2026

As co-written by Baumbach and Emily Mortimer, the reunion between the two former acting buddies starts warm but quickly begins to curdle.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 7, 2025

But just a couple of decades later, that optimism began to curdle.

From Salon ● Apr. 27, 2025

It hadn’t taken long for a nasty feeling to curdle in his belly, and a day later, it had continued to linger.

From "Beasts of Prey" by Ayana Gray

Hilarious and incisive, the humor never draws blood, never curdles.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 25, 2026

There may be an undercurrent of gossip, like the hints of discord between Affleck and Leavitt, but nothing that curdles our mood.

From Salon ● Nov. 4, 2025

I’ve seen it over and over in my practice: A gesture that is initially received with intense gratitude curdles into hurt or anger.

From Slate ● Mar. 23, 2025

It turns out you can pay a lot for the privilege of real-time “re-enactments,” and he does, commissioning a series of increasingly elaborate set pieces whose pursuit soon curdles into monomania.

From New York Times ● Jan. 13, 2024

You have read this strange and terrific story, Margaret; and do you not feel your blood congeal with horror, like that which even now curdles mine?

From "Frankenstein" by Mary Shelley

A curdled mug of nostalgia for adult-size puppets leading children around candy-hued soundstage sets, “Buddy” is a horror comedy scraped from the fuzzy lining of low-rent kiddie programming.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 28, 2026

Against him stand those who think Britain's hostility to cooling has curdled into a type of masochism.

From BBC ● Jul. 29, 2026

Mr. Soto has created a comedy that’s frequently smart in its consideration of art, class, commerce and curdled ambition.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 29, 2026

Even as investor sentiment has curdled, TD Cowen believes a sustained appetite for data-center spending could cause Vertiv’s customer orders to accelerate as soon as the fourth quarter.

From Barron's ● Dec. 1, 2025

Shomari’s accusation curdled inside him like bad milk, leaving a sour taste in his mouth.

From "Beasts of Prey" by Ayana Gray

I called Gao Shanwen back in 2019, early in Xi Jinping’s second term, when disappointment over Beijing’s failure to reform its state sector was curdling into something closer to alarm.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 14, 2026

He returned to a hometown that seemed to be developing under that same American planning influence whose reputation was curdling up north.

From Slate ● Dec. 22, 2024

The tagline — “What a guy! What a lug! What a hero! What a bum!” — illustrates the tentative truce between fans and umpires that is always, inevitably, one call from curdling.

From Seattle Times ● May 31, 2024

Technology, nostalgia and the often-inflated value of brands and IP have created a nightmarish cycle of resurrection and regurgitation, curdling what we love most.

From Washington Times ● Jun. 27, 2023

It was like she was curdling inside, filling with anger.

From "Orphan Island" by Laurel Snyder