blood-curdling
Definition
Adjective: causing extreme fear or horror; terrifying. This word is used to describe something that makes someone feel so frightened that it seems to affect their blood, as if it were curdling (solidifying).
Usage Examples
- (The scream was extremely terrifying.)
- (The story caused intense fear.)
- (The sight was horrifying.)
Advanced Usage
"blood-curdling cry": a scream or shout that is intensely frightening.
- The blood-curdling cry echoed through the dark forest. (The cry was so scary it seemed to affect one's blood.)
"blood-curdling tale": a story designed to inspire terror.
- She narrated a blood-curdling tale of haunted houses and vengeful spirits. (The tale was terrifying.)
Variants and Related Words
- Bloodcurdling (adj): alternative spelling without a hyphen; same meaning.
- The bloodcurdling howl of the wolf kept us awake all night. (The howl was extremely frightening.)
- Curdle (verb): to cause milk or blood to separate into solids and liquid; metaphorically, to cause extreme fear.
- The horror movie curdled my blood. (The movie made me feel terrified.)
Synonyms
- Horrifying: causing intense shock or disgust.
- Terrifying: causing extreme fear.
- Petrifying: making someone so scared they cannot move.
- Frightening: causing fear or alarm.
Related Idioms
- Make one's blood curdle: to cause extreme fear.
- The sound of the monster made my blood curdle. (It scared me deeply.)
- Blood runs cold: to feel sudden fear or shock.
- When she saw the shadow, her blood ran cold. (She felt terrified.)