trilling 1 of 2

Definition of trillingnext

trilling

2 of 2

verb

present participle of trill
as in quavering
to sing with the alternation of two musical tones a bluebird trilled outside our window

Synonyms & Similar Words

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 trilling
Verb
Sounds of loud trilling shouts after silent hunts, and singing. Literary Hub, 3 Nov. 2025 The blast furnace of volcanoes has fallen silent, replaced by birdsong trilling from the branches and echoing through a garden of exotic stone. Roger Naylor, AZCentral.com, 29 Aug. 2025 Expect to marvel at saddles blanketed in blueberries and multi-hued wildflowers, marmots trilling their warnings, ibex perched on rocky spines, and neon critters that wiggle and hop underfoot. Wendy Altschuler, Forbes.com, 16 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for trilling
Adjective
  • The song may be six minutes long, but the circuitous lope of his acoustic-guitar strum and low throb of his warbling feel eternal, like the type of tune Sisyphus might have hummed to keep himself company.
    Craig Jenkins, Vulture, 2 Dec. 2025
Verb
  • The governor, Tim Walz, defeated for the Vice Presidency, gets on TV, his voice quavering, saying the right things, speaking the truth, and advising courage.
    Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 29 Jan. 2026
  • The combination of quavering flutes and solemn, unfamiliar corridors is disquieting.
    Hazlitt, Hazlitt, 10 Dec. 2025
Verb
  • This fanatical regime has been chanting death to America, death to Israel for 47 years.
    James Powel, USA Today, 2 Apr. 2026
  • Their sessions incorporate chanting and different musical exercises, similar to what Thompson practiced in school.
    Britt Julious, Chicago Tribune, 30 Mar. 2026
Adjective
  • The effect is deliberately jarring, and, for tens of thousands of viewers, instantly resonant.
    Melissa Fleur Afshar, MSNBC Newsweek, 31 Mar. 2026
  • While calling The Comeback a dramedy may be a stretch, the series has moved away from the broader humor of its inaugural season and evolved into something richer and more emotionally resonant.
    Louis Peitzman, Vulture, 30 Mar. 2026
Adjective
  • The sonorous presence of actor Morgan Freeman will be one of the highlights of the Beatles on the Beach festival in Boca Raton on March 12-15, which will include a March 14 performance by Morgan Freeman’s Symphonic Blues Experience.
    Ben Crandell, Sun Sentinel, 7 Mar. 2026
  • Authoritative, sonorous and compelling, his is the voice that persuaded millions that the Martians had landed in Grover’s Mills, New Jersey in The War of the Worlds.
    Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 5 Feb. 2026
Adjective
  • Kaye’s style was distinctive in its emphasis on melodic and rhythmically active bass lines.
    Encyclopedia Britannica, Encyclopedia Britannica, 3 Apr. 2026
  • When workshopping the material, however, Psalmayene 24 could feel Lewis’s life begging for a melodic treatment and pivoted to a musical.
    Thomas Floyd, Washington Post, 31 Mar. 2026
Adjective
  • Their rare sprinkling of colorful choices throughout were even less appealing to the modern aesthete’s eye, right down to the pinkish-red bathroom.
    Kathryn O’Shea-Evans, Robb Report, 29 Mar. 2026
  • Now, agents field interest from sometimes dozens of potential buyers, and authors can pick the deal most appealing to them.
    Leah Asmelash, CNN Money, 29 Mar. 2026
Adjective
  • For a vehicle celebrated for sipping fuel rather than burning it, that’s a pleasant surprise.
    Sponsored Content, Denver Post, 4 Apr. 2026
  • Parks rose to fame in her teens, winning the Mercury Prize for her 2021 debut album Collapsed in Sunbeams, a diaristic clutch of pleasant soft-rock songs.
    Aimee Cliff, Pitchfork, 3 Apr. 2026

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Cite this Entry

“Trilling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/trilling. Accessed 6 Apr. 2026.

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