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Definition of shrill adjective from the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary

shrill

adjective
 
/ʃrɪl/
 
/ʃrɪl/
(comparative shriller, superlative shrillest)
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  1. (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.
  2. loud and determined but often unreasonable
    • shrill demands/protests
  3. Word Originlate Middle English: of Germanic origin; related to Low German schrell ‘sharp in tone or taste’.
See shrill in the Oxford Advanced American Dictionary

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