Yells

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. To make loud, forceful vocal sounds usually in response to emotional situations or to gain someone's attention
2. To produce a loud vocal sound often to express strong feelings or call out to others
3. To raise the voice sharply when communicating with intensity or urgency

Etymology: "Yells" is simply the third-person singular present form of "yell," so its history is that of the verb. The verb comes from Old English "giellan," which meant to make a loud, resonant cry, and it passed into Middle English as "ȝellen" and "yellen." Its roots go back to a Proto-Germanic form, "gellaną," and it has close relatives across the Germanic languages, including Dutch "gillen" and German "gellen," which likewise mean to shout or shriek. The word's cousins in Dutch and German show that the sense of a piercing cry has been stable for well over a thousand years. The "yell" of a shrill, wordless outburst and the "yell" of urgent speech are essentially the same sound, which is why the modern sense of raising the voice with intensity grew naturally from it.

Synonyms: shouts, screams, calls, vociferates, howls

Antonyms: whispers, murmurs, hushes, silences, quiets