Library / English Dictionary

SQUALL

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 I. (noun) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Sudden violent winds; often accompanied by precipitation

Classified under:

Nouns denoting natural phenomena

Hypernyms ("squall" is a kind of...):

air current; current of air; wind (air moving (sometimes with considerable force) from an area of high pressure to an area of low pressure)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "squall"):

line squall (a squall advancing along a front that forms a definite line)

Derivation:

squall (blow in a squall)

squally (characterized by brief periods of violent wind or rain)

 II. (verb) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Utter a sudden loud cry

Example:

I yelled to her from the window but she couldn't hear me

Synonyms:

call; cry; holler; hollo; scream; shout; shout out; squall; yell

Classified under:

Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing

Hypernyms (to "squall" is one way to...):

emit; let loose; let out; utter (express audibly; utter sounds (not necessarily words))

Verb group:

call (utter in a loud voice or announce)

call out; cry; cry out; exclaim; outcry; shout (utter aloud; often with surprise, horror, or joy)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "squall"):

hollo (cry hollo)

hurrah (shout 'hurrah!')

halloo (shout 'halloo', as when greeting someone or attracting attention)

whoop (shout, as if with joy or enthusiasm)

pipe; pipe up; shriek; shrill (utter a shrill cry)

howl; roar; ululate; wail; yaup; yawl (emit long loud cries)

screak; screech; skreak; skreigh; squawk (utter a harsh abrupt scream)

Sentence frames:

Something ----s
Somebody ----s

Sense 2

Meaning:

Make high-pitched, whiney noises

Synonyms:

squall; waul; wawl

Classified under:

Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing

Hypernyms (to "squall" is one way to...):

howl; roar; ululate; wail; yaup; yawl (emit long loud cries)

Sentence frames:

Something ----s
Somebody ----s

Sense 3

Meaning:

Blow in a squall

Example:

When it squalls, a prudent sailor reefs his sails

Classified under:

Verbs of raining, snowing, thawing, thundering

Hypernyms (to "squall" is one way to...):

blow (be blowing or storming)

Sentence frame:

Something ----s

Derivation:

squall (sudden violent winds; often accompanied by precipitation)

Credits

 Context examples: 

The air was sticky and humid, and the rain-squalls were unrefreshing.

(Martin Eden, by Jack London)

"Ha, ha! Never say die, take a pinch of snuff, goodbye, goodbye!" squalled Polly, dancing on her perch, and clawing at the old lady's cap as Laurie tweaked him in the rear.

(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)

“Well, Silver,” replied the doctor, “if that is so, I'll go one step further: look out for squalls when you find it.”

(Treasure Island, by Robert Louis Stevenson)

Everything had happened at once—the blow, the counter-blow, the squeal of agony from the porcupine, the big cat's squall of sudden hurt and astonishment.

(White Fang, by Jack London)

When dinner was almost done, the nurse came in with a child of a year old in her arms, who immediately spied me, and began a squall that you might have heard from London-Bridge to Chelsea, after the usual oratory of infants, to get me for a plaything.

(Gulliver's Travels into several remote nations of the world, by Jonathan Swift)

It was a quarter of a mile away when a thick squall of rain veiled it from view.

(The Sea-Wolf, by Jack London)

For weeks it had been a very dull and sombre world; but now, with nearly all debts paid, three dollars jingling in his pocket, and in his mind the consciousness of success, the sun shone bright and warm, and even a rain-squall that soaked unprepared pedestrians seemed a merry happening to him.

(Martin Eden, by Jack London)

He restrained himself however, and the little squall would have blown over, but for one unlucky word.

(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)

Squalling was the word for it; Pew's anger rose so high at these objections till at last, his passion completely taking the upper hand, he struck at them right and left in his blindness and his stick sounded heavily on more than one.

(Treasure Island, by Robert Louis Stevenson)

But the porcupine, squealing and grunting, with disrupted anatomy trying feebly to roll up into its ball-protection, flicked out its tail again, and again the big cat squalled with hurt and astonishment.

(White Fang, by Jack London)