Definition of "bloodcurdling" [blood•curd•ling]

• Causing great horror; terrifying. (adjective)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "Now they began with what his mother described as a bloodcurdling scream, after which David would jump out of bed, knock over furniture, and run about as if trying to escape from something."
• "According to Global Ontario, witnesses recalled a bloodcurdling scream and saw a young woman flee from the home early yesterday."
• "Sleep terrors often begin with a "bloodcurdling" scream or shout, and cause behavior suggesting extreme terror, such as dilated pupils, rapid breathing, racing heart, sweating, and extreme agitation."