cackly

8.7

A harsh, high laugh that sounds like a hen

adjective
/ˈkækli/

: cacareante

The hen let out a cackly sound after laying her egg, startling the farmer.

Examples

Her laugh was cackly and harsh, filling the room with an unusual sound.
As they reminisced about their childhood, her cackly laugh echoed through the park.
We've got cackly evil-doers, embodying everything wicked in the world.

Blog text (14)

Synonyms

squeaky

vscackly

67 1.3

Making a high, sharp sound like a mouse or hinge

is harsher and more birdlike than a simple small pitch

cacophonous

vscackly

2 8.4

Making a loud, harsh noise that is unpleasant to hear

is a specific shrill birdlike sound, not a general noisy mix

screechy

vscackly

2 5.4

A high, harsh, unpleasant sound like a loud scream

is more birdlike and repetitive rather than broadly harsh

squawky

vscackly

1 7.5

A loud harsh sound like a bird's cry that is unpleasant

is specifically the repeated henlike cackle rather than a single squawk

shrieky

vscackly

1 7.2

Making a very high, loud, annoying sound that hurts your ears

is birdlike and more repetitive than a single sharp cry

screamy

vscackly

1 8.2

Very loud and high in sound like a scream

is birdlike and more staccato than a continuous scream

squealing

vscackly

1 4.1

A high, sharp sound made by a mouse or brakes

is more like repeated hen cackles than a single piercing noise

cacophonic

vscackly

1 9.3

Has a loud, harsh sound that is unpleasant

is focused on a repetitive, shrill birdlike tone rather than general discord

clucky

vscackly

7.8

Making short, sharp sounds like a hen

is a more shrill and repetitive hen sound after laying

quacky

vscackly

Informal

7.9

Making a sound like a duck or acting silly in a strange way

is a sharp, henlike call rather than a duck sound or silliness

How Shrill

piercing

2 5.5

shrill

31 4.8

cackly

8.7

harsh

47 3.9

soft

Specialized

12 4.2

Surface Forms

cackly positive

Morphology

cackly = cackle (transparent) = cackle + y

Derived by adding the adjectival suffix '-y' to 'cackle', so the meaning 'characterized by cackling' is directly predictable.

Etymology

Cackly comes from the sound word cackle, which copies the sharp noise a hen makes. The ending -ly turns it into a word meaning 'having that harsh, high, or repeated laugh or hen-like sound', so cackly describes a shrill laugh or a hen-like tone.