SCREAMING

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does screaming mean? 

• SCREAMING (noun)
  The noun SCREAMING has 2 senses:

1. sharp piercing cry

2. a high-pitched noise resembling a human cry

  Familiarity information: SCREAMING used as a noun is rare.

• SCREAMING (adjective)
  The adjective SCREAMING has 3 senses:

1. so extremely intense as to evoke screams

2. resembling a scream in effect

3. marked by or causing boisterous merriment or convulsive laughter

  Familiarity information: SCREAMING used as an adjective is uncommon.

 Dictionary entry details 

• SCREAMING (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Sharp piercing cry

Classified under:

Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents

Synonyms:

scream; screaming; screech; screeching; shriek; shrieking

Context example:

her screaming attracted the neighbors

Hypernyms ("screaming" is a kind of...):

call; cry; outcry; shout; vociferation; yell (a loud utterance; often in protest or opposition)

Derivation:

scream (utter a sudden loud cry)

Sense 2

Meaning:

A high-pitched noise resembling a human cry

Classified under:

Nouns denoting natural events

Synonyms:

scream; screaming; screech; screeching; shriek; shrieking

Context example:

he heard the scream of the brakes

Hypernyms ("screaming" is a kind of...):

noise (sound of any kind (especially unintelligible or dissonant sound))

Derivation:

scream (make a loud, piercing sound)

• SCREAMING (adjective)

Sense 1

Meaning:

So extremely intense as to evoke screams

Context example:

a screaming rage

Similar:

intense (possessing or displaying a distinctive feature to a heightened degree)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Resembling a scream in effect

Context example:

screaming colors and designs

Similar:

sensational (causing intense interest, curiosity, or emotion)

Sense 3

Meaning:

Marked by or causing boisterous merriment or convulsive laughter

Synonyms:

hilarious; screaming; uproarious

Context example:

uproarious stories

Similar:

humorous; humourous (full of or characterized by humor)

 Context examples 

Gretel was not idle; she ran screaming to her master, and cried: You have invited a fine guest!

(Fairy Tales, by The Brothers Grimm)

The girl was taken to her room, still screaming and sobbing, while I made inquiries about Brunton.

(The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

I gave a few halloa, took to my heels, collared my gentleman, and brought him back to where there was already quite a group about the screaming child.

(The Strange Case Of Dr. Jekyll And Mr. Hyde, by Robert Louis Stevenson)

The peasant, reading the soldier's meaning in his fierce eyes and harsh accents dropped upon his knees, screaming loudly for mercy.

(The White Company, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

I was struggling and screaming when Gennaro entered and attacked him.

(His Last Bow, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

It would wail in its cradle all night long—not screaming heartily like any other child, but whimpering and moaning.

(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)

I threw myself, screaming, against the door, and dragged with my nails at the lock.

(The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

They closed in upon her, snarling and yelping, and she was buried, screaming with agony, beneath the bristling mass of bodies.

(The Call of the Wild, by Jack London)

And then I started, broad awake and in full possession of my senses, and ran screaming from the place.

(Dracula, by Bram Stoker)

These women, capable of the most sublime emotions, of the tenderest sympathies, were open-mouthed and screaming.

(The Sea-Wolf, by Jack London)