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In a recent post we looked at the English verbs speak, talk, say, and tell. Now let’s look at several verbs that all mean to speak (talk, say, or tell) very loudly.

Don’t Raise Your Voice!

One common expression you may hear is raise your voice, which simply means to speak more loudly than usual. You can raise your voice in anger, or simply to be heard better.

• Don’t raise your voice at me!
• If you have a question, please raise your voice so I can hear you.
• It’s so loud in here, we need to raise our voices in order be heard.

Shout, holler, and yell are very similar to raise your voice. The difference is the reason why you’re raising your voice. If the reason is happiness, or encouragement, or victory, use shout. Or if you’re just trying to be heard over a distance, you can also use shout.

• When no one answered the door, I shouted, “Hello? Is anyone home?”
• The kids shouted with excitement when they heard the ice cream truck.
• Everyone shouted when the teams ran out onto the field.

Holler means raise your voice, especially to get someone’s attention. It’s of course not always polite to holler.

• The kids hollered to their mother that they wanted ice cream.
• If you want something, get up and ask me. Don’t just holler from the chair!
• Some guy hollered something during the mayor’s press release.

If you’re raising your voice in anger, it’s more common to use yell. If parents are angry because their children have done something wrong, they may yell at them.

• Don’t yell at the kids! They didn’t do anything wrong!
• Why are you yelling? What are you upset about?
• Stop yelling! We need to discuss this calmly!

Did You Just Hear Someone Scream?

There are a couple of verbs that you can use to mean raise your voice in pain or fear. Cry out is one of them. (Cry of course also is what you do when you’re very sad, when tears come from your eyes.)

• I cried out when I twisted my ankle. It really hurt a lot!
• Rick cried out when he accidentally touched the hot stove.
• Sam was having a nightmare and cried out in his sleep.

Scream is to make a loud, high pitched sound, usually because of fear, but also because of pain or excitement. If you watch a lot of horror movies, you hear a lot of screams.

• The kids were running around the yard and screaming with excitement.
• Everyone on the roller coaster screamed in fear and delight.
• I just heard someone scream in the park! Should we call the police?

Shriek is like scream, but it’s usually a very quick scream caused by fear or surprise. You can also shriek with laughter, meaning to laugh in a loud and high pitched way.

• My mom shrieked when she saw the spider.
• Gary looks big and tough, but if he sees a mouse he’ll shriek!
• Everyone in the audience was shrieking after she told the joke.

Wail is to cry out in sadness. If a person is wailing, he or she is crying (as in tears coming from the eyes) and crying out (as in speaking very loudly.) People wail when they’re very sad or miserable.

• Everyone at the funeral was wailing.
• My sisters and I wailed when we found out that our grandmother had died.
• Oh, stop wailing! It’s not that bad.

He Roars like a Lion.

Some verbs that are typically used to talk about animals can also be used to describe the way people speak. To roar is to make a very loud (usually angry) sound, like a lion, a tiger, or some other big, loud, and frightening animal.

• John is such an angry guy. He’s always roaring at his kids.
• If you need something from me, just come ask. Don’t roar from another room.
• When I stubbed my toe against the table I roared in pain.

To screech means to make a very high-pitched, piercing sound, like a seagull or a bat. If someone screeches, his or her voice is loud and annoying. Screech also describes the sound that brakes make when you stop your car suddenly, or the sound that tires make when you drive away very quickly.

• Our neighbor always screeches out the window at her kids. It’s very annoying.
• Will you kids stop screeching? It’s too late to be so loud!
• I screeched as I ran across the hot sand on the beach.

To howl is to make a sound like a wolf, as in: wolves howl at the moon. So if a person howls, it’s a loud sound that can be caused by anything from pain or fear to amusement or anger.

• I howled in pain the moment the dentist touched my tooth.
• My friends howled in laughter when I fell off my bike into the mud.
• Our boss must not be happy today. He’s been howling at someone on the phone all morning.

To squawk is also to make a loud, unpleasant bird-like sound. Think of the sound that crows or seagulls make – loud and harsh. Squawking is usually a sound of complaint or dissatisfaction rather than pain or fear.

• People in this town are never satisfied. They’re always squawking about something!
• Mary works in customer service, so all day she has to listen to angry customers squawking.
• Don’t just sit there and squawk! If you’re not happy about something, try to fix it!

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