Yowl

To utter a loud, prolonged, and mournful cry, typically expressing pain, distress, or complaint. A yowl often carries an emotional intensity, revealing a deep-seated feeling, whether from an animal or a person.

It can be a wailing, a lament, or a desperate shriek, designed to attract attention or convey profound unhappiness.

The sound quality is often high-pitched and ragged, signifying vulnerability and a potential threat depending on the context, such as a territorial challenge.

The duration of a yowl can vary but often persists longer than a bark or short cry.

Yowl meaning with examples

• The stray cat, thin and shivering in the cold, would yowl piteously at the back door, begging for food and shelter from the unforgiving weather.
• Lost in the vast and confusing woods, the child began to yowl, his small voice cracking with fear, as he called out for his parents.
• The wind, howling through the exposed mountain pass, seemed to yowl its mournful tune, a chilling symphony of the approaching storm.
• The old woman, watching the news report, would yowl when the report would not show any updates on the missing people.
• The performer used his voice to yowl at the top of his voice, in order to create a tense atmosphere and to shock the crowd.