shrill

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

“My grandmother was a sharecropper in Arkansas, and I know that this is the same thing,” a man shouts at one point as whistles shrill and a handheld siren wails.

From Slate • Feb. 11, 2026

“I know James isn’t going to take the impression in a more self-righteous or shrill direction,” he says—not because “SNL” is playing things safe, but because the bit simply wouldn’t be as funny.

From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 3, 2025

We must transcend the shrill negative feelings and emotions that characterized the campaign season.

From Salon • Jan. 21, 2025

The album’s title track, “Vida Rockstar,” opens with skateboards hitting concrete and the high shrill of a skater’s dragging heel.

From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 1, 2024

Maybe night noises scared them—the barking of foxes, the shrill screech of owls, the rustle of unseen deer in the woods.

From "The Old Willis Place" by Mary Downing Hahn