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to trill

to trill

5 7.5
To make the r sound by moving the tongue quickly against the roof of the mouth
  • verb
  • /trɪl/
  • Specialized
translation icon : vibrar
  • His head drifted down her neck, and she sighed and trilled with soft laughter.
  • voice trilled
  • trilled with laughter
  • "Morning," trilled

Examples

  • Then I trill my tongue all the way...

  • "Goodbye, doctor," she trills, but he makes no response.

    Fiction book (1993)
  • "Oh good, fan mail," she trilled, laughing as she opened the first letter.

    Fiction book (1997)
  • A light laugh that trilled up into the supersonic, and she was gone.

    Fiction book (1995)
  • The granny calls to them, trilling, faint, like a little baby calling you.

    Fiction book (1999)
  • Indeed, Sister Alexandrine trilled, I would have to say that the exercise has been an entirely pleasant one.

    Fiction book (2002)
  • Kitten made a clucking sound and trilled again, breaking the sound into a high note and a low one.

    Fiction book (1994)
  • " Artoo swiveled his dome back around, trilling a decidedly indignant denial.

    Fiction book (1991)
  • The warriors nodded, breathing, "Oha(n)," and several of the women trilled their tongues to make the wicagalata cry of approval.

    Fiction book (1994)
  • He learned how to trill his tongue while practicing his Spanish pronunciation.

Synonyms

to roll
vsto trill
  • Specialized
36 7.5

To make the r sound by quickly shaking the tongue

is used for similar sounds in general rather than only the letter r

Surface Forms

trill infinitive
trilled past
trilled past participle
trilling present participle
trills third person singular

Etymology

Trill comes from an old word that copies a quick, vibrating sound, like a bird's short song, so to trill an 'r' is to make your tongue 'vibrate' quickly against the roof of your mouth.