Inherited from Middle English scremen, borrowed from or cognate with Middle Dutch scremen (“to yell; shout”) and Old Norse skræma (“to terrify; scare”); compare West Flemish schreemen, Zealandic schreême (“to shout; yell; cry”), Swedish skrämma (“to spook; frighten”), Danish skræmme (“to scare”), West Frisian skrieme (“to weep”). Compare also Swedish skräna (“to yell; shout; howl”), Dutch schreien (“to cry; weep”), German schreien (“to scream”). Related to shriek, skrike.
Meanings
A loud, emphatic, exclamation of extreme emotion, especially horror, fear, excitement, or anger; it may comprise a word or a sustained, high-pitched vowel sound.
A loud vocalisation of many animals, especially in response to pain or fear.
I am tender-hearted by nature, and have found my eyes moist many a time over the scream of a wounded hare. 1912, Arthur Conan Doyle, The Lost World […], London; New York, N.Y.: Hodder and Stoughton, →OCLC:
A form of singing associated with the metal and screamo styles of music. It is a loud, rough, distorted version of the voice; rather than the normal voice of the singer.
(informal) Used as an intensifier.
Amman, though not exactly your world cultural centre, is a scream of a city; all the roads have different names from their official ones, so that maps are useless 1994 June 28, “Kingdom of the faithful: Serena Mackesy visits Jordan”, in Independent:
Inherited from Middle English scremen, borrowed from or cognate with Middle Dutch scremen (“to yell; shout”) and Old Norse skræma (“to terrify; scare”); compare West Flemish schreemen, Zealandic schreême (“to shout; yell; cry”), Swedish skrämma (“to spook; frighten”), Danish skræmme (“to scare”), West Frisian skrieme (“to weep”). Compare also Swedish skräna (“to yell; shout; howl”), Dutch schreien (“to cry; weep”), German schreien (“to scream”). Related to shriek, skrike.
Meanings
(also, figuratively, intransitive) To cry out with a shrill voice; to utter a sudden, sharp outcry, or shrill, loud cry, as in fright or extreme pain; to screech, to shriek.
Well, I waited and I waited / For some word from down below / And then ol' Harley started screaming / "Run, my God, now, Carter, go man go!" 2006, The H. P. Lovecraft Historical Society, “Harley Got Devoured by the Undead”, in An Even Scarier Solstice:
I heard the owl scream and the crickets cry. c. 1606 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Macbeth”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act II, scene ii]:
One hit high on Farenholt snipped off the radar antenna rather neatly and sent splinters down into the torpedo launcher below, one of which blew out the air flask of a torpedo, which immediately launched itself straight out of the tube, and, rather unhelpfully, since the torpedo launcher was currently positioned pointing forward, wedged itself, motor screaming, in the forefunnel. Luckily, unlike Buchanan's weapon, this one was faulty; the motor ran out, but the automatic destruct function failed to work. 2020 December 9, Drachinifel, 22:54 from the start, in Guadalcanal Campaign - Cape Esperance (IJN 1 : 2 USN), archived from the original on 04 Dec 2022:
Meanwhile, the authoritarianism, which has turned left-liberalism into a movement for sneaks and prudes, was always going to play into the hands of the right. Free citizens have stopped listening to those who respond to the challenge of argument by screaming for the police to arrest the politically incorrect or for universities to ban speakers who depart from leftish orthodoxy. 2016 October 2, Nick Cohen, “Liberal Guilt Won't Fight Nationalism”, in The Guardian Weekly, volume 195, numbers 17 (30 September – 6 October 2016), London: Guardian News & Media, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 21, column 3:
I'm having wicked dreams of leaving Tennessee
Hear Santa Monica, I swear it's calling me
Won't make my mama proud, it's gonna cause a scene
She sees her baby girl, I know she's gonna scream 2020 April 3, Chappell Roan, Dan Nigro, “Pink Pony Club”performed by Chappell Roan:
When we crossed the river, I heard a terrible cry, and I blessed the child again, the others said it was only the loon, which screamed for bad weather." "Yes, that would have been sufficient, if there was nothing else but the loon," said Gubjor; "when it screams at a new-born babe, that child is bewitched." 1886, Peter Christen Asbjørnsen, translated by H.L. Brækstad, Folk and Fairy Tales, page 303:
(figuratively, intransitive) To move quickly; to race.
He almost hit a pole, the way he came screaming down the hill.
Things had improved a little bit compared to the Eastern Solomons, and three dozen F4F Wildcats on combat air patrol were vectored onto the oncoming hostiles, but once that initial task was accomplished, things began to collapse back into the cacophony and chaos that was all too familiar to those aboard the Enterprise, meaning that the end result was round about the same, the Japanese aircraft screaming into their attack runs on Hornet about the same time as most of the Wildcats managed to sort themselves out to begin their own attacks on the incoming. 2021 February 3, Drachinifel, 11:05 from the start, in Guadalcanal Campaign - Santa Cruz (IJN 2 : 2 USN), archived from the original on 04 Dec 2022:
(figuratively, informal, intransitive) To be very indicative of; clearly having the characteristics of.
Nothing screams fall like corduroy! I'm loving this deep seafoam green shacket—made of the thick, ribbed material—that'll give a fab pop of color to a muted ensemble. 2023 November 4, Kim Duong, Megan Uy, Tarah-Lynn Saint-Elien, “22 Best Shackets to Get You Through the Chilly Fall Weather”, in Cosmopolitan:
Do you know what screams "I’m obnoxious"? People who feel the need to comment on every little thing they notice.
ota چاغرمق (to make the sound of a scream) · sw kulia (to make the sound of a scream) · bg крещя (to make the sound of a scream) · fo skríggja (to make the sound of a scream) · cst 'iuqí (to make the sound of a scream) · chr ᎨᏡᎲᏍᎦ (to make the sound of a scream) · pl wrzasnąć (to make the sound of a scream) · cs ječet (to make the sound of a scream) · tr çığlık atmak (to make the sound of a scream) · br krial (to make the sound of a scream) · sh кричати (to make the sound of a scream) · ja 喚く (to make the sound of a scream) · es alaridar (to make the sound of a scream) · se čeargut (to make the sound of a scream) · az bağırmaq (to make the sound of a scream) · mi ngoengoe (to make the sound of a scream) · no hyle (to make the sound of a scream) · ko 소리지르다 (to make the sound of a scream) · pl wrzeszczeć (to make the sound of a scream) · el κραυγάζω (to make the sound of a scream) · mi koekoe (to make the sound of a scream) · pl krzyknąć (to make the sound of a scream) · sh викати (to make the sound of a scream) · ja 悲鳴を上げる (to make the sound of a scream) · bg извикам (to make the sound of a scream) · gd sgreuch (to make the sound of a scream) · ota سسلنمك (to make the sound of a scream) · pap grità (to make the sound of a scream) · fi kirkua (to make the sound of a scream) · it urlare (to make the sound of a scream) · et karjuma (to make the sound of a scream) · ca xisclar (to make the sound of a scream) · ta கத்து (to make the sound of a scream) · hu visít (to make the sound of a scream) · es desgañitarse (to make the sound of a scream) · es desgañifarse (to make the sound of a scream) · crh cekirmek (to make the sound of a scream) · ml അലറുക (to make the sound of a scream) · mi pioro (to make the sound of a scream) · el ωρύομαι (to make the sound of a scream) · el φωνάζω (to make the sound of a scream) · gd sgal (to make the sound of a scream) · ru крича́ть (to make the sound of a scream) · bg изкрещя (to make the sound of a scream) · se biškut (to make the sound of a scream) · hu ordít (to make the sound of a scream) · pl krzyczeć (to make the sound of a scream) · ca cridar (to make the sound of a scream) · ro țipa (to make the sound of a scream) · om iyyuu (to make the sound of a scream) · ja 怒鳴り付ける (to make the sound of a scream) · eo krii (to make the sound of a scream) · eu oihukatu (to make the sound of a scream) · io klamar (to make the sound of a scream) · ang hrīeman (to make the sound of a scream) · uk кричати (to make the sound of a scream) · da skrige (to make the sound of a scream) · mi tīwē (to make the sound of a scream) · oc sisclar (to make the sound of a scream) · cmn 嗷叫 (to make the sound of a scream) · hu sikít (to make the sound of a scream) · sh kričati (to make the sound of a scream) · cs křičet (to make the sound of a scream) · cs vykřiknout (to make the sound of a scream) · af skreeu (to make the sound of a scream) · el ουρλιάζω (to make the sound of a scream) · la vōciferor (to make the sound of a scream) · cmn 叫喊 (to make the sound of a scream) · oc cridar (to make the sound of a scream) · tl umiyák (to make the sound of a scream) · eo kriĉi (to make the sound of a scream) · fi huutaa (to make the sound of a scream) · mi ngoe (to make the sound of a scream) · mi koekoe (to make the sound of a scream) · tr haykırmak (to make the sound of a scream) · es baladrar (to make the sound of a scream) · bg викам (to make the sound of a scream) · no skrike (to make the sound of a scream) · he צרח (to make the sound of a scream) · is öskra (to make the sound of a scream) · tk arlamak (to make the sound of a scream) · vo luvokädön (to make the sound of a scream) · nl schreeuwen (to make the sound of a scream) · egy s-b-H-bH-A2 (to make the sound of a scream) · pt berrar (to make the sound of a scream) · acw زَعَّق (to make the sound of a scream) · bo ཀི་སྒྲ་རྒྱབ་པ (to make the sound of a scream) · it sbraitare (to make the sound of a scream) · ro striga (to make the sound of a scream) · sv skrika (to make the sound of a scream) · fr crier (to make the sound of a scream) · es huchear (to make the sound of a scream) · es gritar (to make the sound of a scream) · mi kē (to make the sound of a scream) · bo སྐད་ཤོར (to make the sound of a scream) · uk вереща́ти (to make the sound of a scream) · tr bağırmak (to make the sound of a scream) · lt rėkti (to make the sound of a scream) · sl kričati (to make the sound of a scream) · et hüüdma (to make the sound of a scream) · ms jerit (to make the sound of a scream) · az qışqırmaq (to make the sound of a scream) · ja キャーと叫ぶ (to make the sound of a scream) · ia critar (to make the sound of a scream) · es desgalillarse (to make the sound of a scream) · acw صَرَّخ (to make the sound of a scream) · mi koe (to make the sound of a scream) · sh vikati (to make the sound of a scream) · mt werżaq (to make the sound of a scream) · el σκούζω (to make the sound of a scream) · el ξεφωνίζω (to make the sound of a scream) · br choual (to make the sound of a scream) · gd ràn (to make the sound of a scream) · la clāmō (to make the sound of a scream) · sl zakričati (to make the sound of a scream) · ar صَرَخَ (to make the sound of a scream) · sv gasta (to make the sound of a scream) · bn চিল্লানি (to make the sound of a scream) · cmn 尖叫 (to make the sound of a scream) · it gridare (to make the sound of a scream) · ckb قیژاندن (to make the sound of a scream) · scn buciari (to make the sound of a scream) · pt gritar (to make the sound of a scream) · de schreien (to make the sound of a scream) · ro urla (to make the sound of a scream) · pdt schrieen (to make the sound of a scream) · gu ચીસ પાડવી (to make the sound of a scream) · mi tioro (to make the sound of a scream) · ga scread (to make the sound of a scream)