trill 1 of 2

as in to warble
to sing with the alternation of two musical tones a bluebird trilled outside our window

Synonyms & Similar Words

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trill

2 of 2

noun

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 trill
Verb
Keep pounding, trilling, or skipping along waves of notes, and your hands take flight. Justin Davidson, Vulture, 3 Feb. 2025 The Volta Associates can be heard counting, trilling the letter R, and reciting Shakespeare. IEEE Spectrum, 30 Apr. 2018
Noun
That talent is led by Ross, a sumptuous performer with oodles of stage presence and the most buttery trills. David John Chávez, The Mercury News, 5 Mar. 2025 The noises of all the organisms living together in a particular place—the trill of birdsong, thrum of insect wings, rustle of leaves, cacophony of yips, or a lonely midnight howl—make up that setting’s biophony, an audio signature of life. The New Yorker, 12 Feb. 2025 See All Example Sentences for trill
Recent Examples of Synonyms for trill
Verb
  • The whole montage was respectful and gracious, with a classical score, rather than a pop chipmunk warbling a sensitive ballad about dead people.
    Rob Sheffield, Rolling Stone, 3 Mar. 2025
  • Peggy Seeger’s 1957 recording of it is a brisk, warbling take with arpeggiated acoustic guitar — a classic example of the kind of carefree-songbird tunes from the early folk revival.
    Ben Sisario, New York Times, 24 Feb. 2025
Verb
  • Fronted by the Swiss Guard, cardinals and other church leaders led the slow procession into the sunlit esplanade as a male choir chanted psalms and prayers in Latin and the great bells of the basilica tolled.
    Eric Lagatta, USA Today, 23 Apr. 2025
  • All of this is accompanied by a throbbing, repetitive, and mind-blanking score by Philip Glass that's heavy on brass, synthesizers, and basso profundo chanting.
    Boutayna Chokrane, Wired News, 22 Apr. 2025
Verb
  • These insects will mate and chorus for at least six weeks before the 17-year cycle starts again.
    Elizabeth Gamillo, Discover Magazine, 13 May 2024
  • Read More: The 2024 Cicada Emergence Is Coming, Here’s Everything to Know The Broods Could Sound like Sirens Male cicadas will chorus to their hearts’ content in the spring and summer of 2024.
    Elizabeth Gamillo, Discover Magazine, 30 Apr. 2024
Verb
  • And since Joan herself, with that quavering soprano, is a fierce customer, famous in her own right, she’s done with being treated like Dylan’s accessory.
    Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 10 Dec. 2024
  • The reflections of the icebergs quavered in the water, which was blue to the edge of purple.
    Elizabeth Kolbert, The New Yorker, 7 Oct. 2024

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Cite this Entry

“Trill.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/trill. Accessed 1 May. 2025.

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