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

“Making shrill and defiant statements against Trump are about the clearest way to get on his bad side.”

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 3, 2025

Thatcher was seen as "strange and shrill" when she got the job, but became the party's most successful boss of modern times.

From BBC • Oct. 4, 2025

“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

I’d stacked the dirty dishes and was filling the kitchen sink when I heard it—a shrill, strangled cry that began in one key and ended in another.

From "Educated" by Tara Westover