(尤指因恐惧、疼痛、惊讶而发出的)尖叫;尖声喊叫。也可指“刺耳的尖锐声音”(如刹车声)。
/ʃriːk/
She heard a shriek from the next room.
她听到隔壁房间传来一声尖叫。
A sudden shriek of brakes cut through the quiet street as the car skidded to a stop.
汽车猛地打滑停下时,刹车发出一阵刺耳的尖叫声,划破了安静的街道。
“shriek”来自中古英语 shriken/shriken 一类形式,和表示“尖叫、刺耳地叫”的日耳曼语词源相关,常用来描写高而尖锐、令人不安的声音。其语感通常比 “shout” 更尖、更急促,情绪更强烈。