BLOODCURDLING Synonyms: 81 Similar and Opposite Words

bloodcurdling

adjective

Definition of bloodcurdling

as in gruesome

causing great horror or fear We heard bloodcurdling stories about the war. bloodcurdling screams

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of bloodcurdling Bahm’s somewhat-frantic conversation with the dispatcher abruptly turned into bloodcurdling screams. — Sean Emery, Oc Register, 7 May 2026 India’s largest state, Uttar Pradesh, is run by Yogi Adityanath, a Hindu monk who founded an anti-Muslim militia and whose bloodcurdling rhetoric against Muslims once placed him beyond the pale of high office. — Sadanand Dhume, Foreign Affairs, 24 Aug. 2021 The sounds of more explosions could be heard deriving from the outside amid more seemingly bloodcurdling screams, yells, sirens and alarms. — Sean Lester Durham, The Root, 8 Apr. 2018 To me, a noose is merely a noose — not a bloodcurdling symbol of racist violence. — Kevin Riordan, Philly.com, 1 Nov. 2017

Recent Examples of Synonyms for bloodcurdling

Adjective

Among protesters, particularly gruesome wounds suffered by some teenagers have been blamed on police riot-control weapons.

— ABC News, ABC News, 13 Oct. 2026
Mars Attacks, released in 1962, was a huge hit with kids, though many parents objected to the gruesome artwork of Martians eviscerating Earthlings.

— Bob Woods, CNBC, 10 Oct. 2026

Definition of gruesome

Adjective

What followed was a horrific night of physical and mental spousal abuse, which Adams describes in searing, emotional prose.

— Hadley Hall Meares, Vanity Fair, 20 Oct. 2026
Recently, Wahid was the lead defense attorney in the death penalty case of a Miami man who pleaded guilty to the horrific triple homicide of his estranged wife and her two young daughters.

— Lauren Costantino, Miami Herald, 20 Oct. 2026

Definition of horrific

Adjective

Desperate to get that handsome life back, Hagen undergoes an experimental procedure that initially works only to give way to a scary new reality with shape-shifting skin.

— Chris Gardner, HollywoodReporter, 16 Oct. 2026
When the company selling you the scary future publishes internal research saying the scary future has not shown up, that is a signal worth reading.

— Stephen Messer, Fortune, 16 Oct. 2026

Definition of scary

Adjective

There is nothing more frightening than when the familiar starts acting strange, in movies or in life.

— Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 19 Oct. 2026
And with Halloween nearly upon us, the question of what frightening, shocking, silly, classic, or demonically camp movies to press play on again (and again) has never been more pertinent.

— Taylor Antrim, Vogue, 18 Oct. 2026

Definition of frightening

Adjective

Fifty years ago, scientists pioneering a terrifying gene-splicing technology figured out a way to collectively hit pause.

— Nick Fountain, NPR, 14 Oct. 2026
Don’t worry, the breakdown starts in a hurry and Cardellini is terrifying, if perhaps not as sympathetic as the series requires long-term.

— Daniel Fienberg, HollywoodReporter, 13 Oct. 2026

Definition of terrifying

Adjective

He’s thrived while finally given a full workload for the first time, showing terrific vision and explosion as a receiver and runner.

— Dalton Del Don, New York Times, 15 Oct. 2026
Some of those who contributed to it brought it to Knott’s Berry Farm, where it has been fine-tuned into the terrific Ghost Town Alive!

— Todd Martens, Los Angeles Times, 13 Oct. 2026

Definition of terrific

Adjective

The series is notorious for its shocking plot twists (many of which bring dramatic, fatal ends to important characters).

— Brendan Le, PEOPLE, 15 Oct. 2026
Bajaria is said to have attended the town hall that Head of Scripted, UCAN Jinny Howe held Wednesday afternoon amid the layoffs, making her exit today feel abrupt and shocking to staffers.

— Nellie Andreeva, Deadline, 15 Oct. 2026

Definition of shocking

Adjective

There’s a big data center that just came to my community not long ago and their community engagement was horrible, absolutely horrible.

— Dustin DeSoto, Vox, 16 Oct. 2026
After the third day of squirting an experimental drug up his nose, Dylan Meetze felt horrible.

— Amy Maxmen, Miami Herald, 15 Oct. 2026

Definition of horrible

Browse Nearby Words

blood brothers

bloodcurdling

blooded

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“Bloodcurdling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bloodcurdling. Accessed 21 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of bloodcurdling

adjective

Example Sentences

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