How to Use shrill in a Sentence

shrill

1 of 2 adjective
  • Joe’s voice rose to a shrill cry.
    — Clare Mulroy, USA Today, 13 Feb. 2026
  • If his shrill voice doesn’t win you over, his little vest will.
    — Luke Winkie, Vulture, 3 Aug. 2021
  • Owen’s voice is a bit shrill, a bit loud, coming from a body a bit too small.
    — Derek B. Miller, WSJ, 15 Oct. 2021
  • Gottfried was known for his iconic shrill voice and beloved for his crude comedic style.
    — Zack Sharf, Variety, 12 Apr. 2022
  • The shrill sounds of the sperm whale are downright dangerous.
    — Sam Walters, Discover Magazine, 17 Oct. 2023
  • The wailing alarm had now been joined by a shrill, bleating second alarm sound.
    — Keith Sharon, USA TODAY, 3 Apr. 2023
  • The hens of many dabbling species make shrill quacks, while drakes make softer peeps and whistles.
    — Will Brantley, Field & Stream, 8 Nov. 2023
  • Before the chicks hatch in a few weeks, be sure to listen for the shrill call of the nesting bird.
    — Benji Jones, National Geographic, 4 Apr. 2018
  • Some cymbal hits came across as slightly shrill thanks to the high-mid emphasis.
    — Christian De Looper, PC Magazine, 23 Mar. 2026
  • The children were exploring when came a shrill warning to flee.
    — Gary Jones/ Suối Đá, Time, 12 Sep. 2017
  • Larson's score remains a mix of soul-stirring ballads and shrill screeds.
    — Theodore P. Mahne, NOLA.com, 18 Apr. 2018
  • On the one hand, shrill; on the other, desperate for approval.
    — Megan Garber, The Atlantic, 13 Nov. 2019
  • Their droppings littered the streets, and their shrill cries echoed throughout the quiet town.
    — Carolyn Wells, Longreads, 5 July 2022
  • Getting to play with the space of a very shrill, withered, but still creepy version of that persona.
    — Christopher Cruz, Rolling Stone, 12 May 2023
  • Also missing from my test drive was the shrill, regular chuffing of air brakes.
    — Dan Neil, WSJ, 7 Oct. 2020
  • Some of the diplomats victims reported hearing a shrill buzzing sound, but not all.
    — Mimi Whitefield, miamiherald, 30 Jan. 2018
  • The shrill white noise that occurs on the radio is also around 10 kHz.
    — National Geographic, 7 Mar. 2018
  • In turn, the tone has changed around Newcastle these past few days; less shrill, less edgy, less perilous.
    — George Caulkin, New York Times, 19 Feb. 2026
  • Drive down that road and a patch of bright green pops into view — the color of life shrill in a place where everything else looks dead.
    — Leah Sottile, Longreads, 15 May 2018
  • Keep in Mind This device is very loud and shrill when operating.
    — Kat De Naoum, Better Homes & Gardens, 20 Oct. 2022
  • On the battlefield, the Vietnam War was just as shrill as the wars that came before it.
    — Matt Alderton, USA TODAY, 6 Sep. 2017
  • With each step, the information grew more shrill, and the facts less verifiable.
    — Mikael Krogerus, New Republic, 2 Nov. 2017
  • Despite that voice, which could be annoying or shrill, Harris could bring a distinct warmth and charm to her roles.
    — Maureen Lee Lenker, The Hollywood Reporter, 2 Apr. 2022
  • The shrill piping voices of small children were heard over the lower, more deliberate tones of adults.
    — Ben Welter, Star Tribune, 29 May 2020
  • One option is to simply double down on the existing approach and become shriller.
    — Robert G. Eccles, Forbes.com, 11 Aug. 2025
  • His face is contorted into a deranged smirk, his eyebrows raised and his teeth bared, as if fixing around that shrill yawp of the rebel yell.
    — Connor Towne O'Neill, Daily Intelligencer, 16 Sep. 2017
  • The beetle was beneath my foot at the moment when my foot fell; a sense of well-being in the daylight, a short, shrill pain and then nothing.
    — James Wood, The New Yorker, 19 Sep. 2022
  • So the scientists go to bed hungry, listening to the rhythmic thrum and shrill noises of the jungle.
    — Washington Post, 3 Nov. 2017
  • Since then, and certainly since Perot's shrill warnings, the crazy aunt has been lifting weights and taking steroids.
    — WSJ, 3 Aug. 2023
  • Since then, though, and certainly since Perot's shrill warnings, the crazy aunt has been lifting weights and taking steroids.
    — WSJ, 2 Aug. 2023

shrill

2 of 2 noun
  • In lesser hands, Vicedo’s book could have grown shrill with outrage.
    — Washington Post, 30 Apr. 2021
  • Inside a lobby of a downtown Tuscaloosa hotel, the shrill of a phone ring echoes.
    — Rainer Sabin, AL.com, 29 Aug. 2017
  • The book is closely argued but at times shrill and inconsistent.
    — Dexter Filkins, New Yorker, 12 Jan. 2026
  • Waugh maintains barely restrained chaos throughout, which often tends toward the shrill.
    — Katie Walsh, Los Angeles Times, 16 Dec. 2020
  • Inside are piles of shrill and whining piccolo petes, neon flame-spouting blazing rebels and mounds of sparklers.
    — Alex Harris, miamiherald, 3 July 2017
  • The morning soundtrack is a shrill buzz of electric saws, and at dusk, the amplified broadcast of the town council meeting.
    — Natalie Keyssar, National Geographic, 26 July 2019
  • The syrup, meanwhile, made the Sauvignon’s acidity shrill and flattened the Riesling’s fruit.
    — Lettie Teague, WSJ, 23 June 2021
  • And more than 30 years ago, the island’s air vibrated with the deafening shrill of thousands of chirping cicadas.
    — Sarah Bowman, The Indianapolis Star, 27 May 2021
  • This is a shrill, tetchy, claustrophobic rock album sodden with record-biz pouting and only the dullest shades of pre-apocalyptic ennui.
    — Chris Richards, Washington Post, 8 Oct. 2019
  • Shoppers casually meandered from store to store, and the shrill shouts of children could be heard echoing through the concourses of the Mall of America.
    — Nicole Norfleet, Star Tribune, 15 Aug. 2020
  • While Stephanie elicits much sympathy, Rena bounces from the empathetic, caring mother to a shrill, out-of-control woman who picks fights with anyone trying to help her.
    — Oline H. Cogdill, sun-sentinel.com, 28 Oct. 2019
  • Elsewhere, another citizen glanced over her shoulder, hastily pulled herself into a dress, and winced at a whistle blown by one of the three advancing officers, the shrill of it a rip of violence through the mild day.
    — Hermione Hoby, Harper's Magazine, 22 June 2021
  • The dolphins were introduced to something unusual—either a scuba diver or a shrill noisemaker—and Díaz López found that each had a consistent reaction over time.
    — Theresa MacHemer, Smithsonian Magazine, 15 Apr. 2020
  • There’s an art to being as wrong and as pugnacious as Archie, to being as righteous and shrill as Mike, and to maintaining that equilibrium in a way that felt and feels honest and, in their ongoing debate, thrilling.
    — Daniel Fienberg, HollywoodReporter, 3 Sep. 2019

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'shrill.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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