ululate

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ul·u·late

(ŭl′yə-lāt′, yo͞ol′-)

intr.v. ul·u·lat·ed, ul·u·lat·ing, ul·u·lates

To howl, wail, or lament loudly, especially by alternating rapidly between two high-pitched sounds.

[Latin ululāre, ululāt-, ultimately of imitative origin.]

ul′u·lant (-lənt) adj.

ul′u·la′tion n.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

ululate

(ˈjuːljʊˌleɪt)

(intr) to howl or wail, as with grief

[C17: from Latin ululāre to howl, from ulula screech owl]

ˈululant adj

ˌuluˈlation n

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

ul•u•late

(ˈʌl yəˌleɪt, ˈyul-)

v.i. -lat•ed, -lat•ing.

1. to howl, hoot, or wail.

2. to lament loudly and shrilly.

[1615–25; < Latin ululātus, past participle of ululāre to howl, shriek, of imitative orig.]

ul`u•la′tion, n.

ululate

Past participle: ululated
Gerund: ululating

Imperative
ululate
ululate

Present
I ululate
you ululate
he/she/it ululates
we ululate
you ululate
they ululate

Preterite
I ululated
you ululated
he/she/it ululated
we ululated
you ululated
they ululated

Present Continuous
I am ululating
you are ululating
he/she/it is ululating
we are ululating
you are ululating
they are ululating

Present Perfect
I have ululated
you have ululated
he/she/it has ululated
we have ululated
you have ululated
they have ululated

Past Continuous
I was ululating
you were ululating
he/she/it was ululating
we were ululating
you were ululating
they were ululating

Past Perfect
I had ululated
you had ululated
he/she/it had ululated
we had ululated
you had ululated
they had ululated

Future
I will ululate
you will ululate
he/she/it will ululate
we will ululate
you will ululate
they will ululate

Future Perfect
I will have ululated
you will have ululated
he/she/it will have ululated
we will have ululated
you will have ululated
they will have ululated

Future Continuous
I will be ululating
you will be ululating
he/she/it will be ululating
we will be ululating
you will be ululating
they will be ululating

Present Perfect Continuous
I have been ululating
you have been ululating
he/she/it has been ululating
we have been ululating
you have been ululating
they have been ululating

Future Perfect Continuous
I will have been ululating
you will have been ululating
he/she/it will have been ululating
we will have been ululating
you will have been ululating
they will have been ululating

Past Perfect Continuous
I had been ululating
you had been ululating
he/she/it had been ululating
we had been ululating
you had been ululating
they had been ululating

Conditional
I would ululate
you would ululate
he/she/it would ululate
we would ululate
you would ululate
they would ululate

Past Conditional
I would have ululated
you would have ululated
he/she/it would have ululated
we would have ululated
you would have ululated
they would have ululated

Collins English Verb Tables © HarperCollins Publishers 2011

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

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Verb

ululate - emit long loud cries; "wail in self-pity"; "howl with sorrow"

howl, wail, yaup, yawl, roar

cry, scream, shout out, yell, squall, shout, holler, hollo, call - utter a sudden loud cry; "she cried with pain when the doctor inserted the needle"; "I yelled to her from the window but she couldn't hear me"

squall, waul, wawl - make high-pitched, whiney noises

ululate

verb

To utter or emit a long, mournful, plaintive sound:

bay, howl, moan, wail, yowl.

Translations

ululate

[ˈjuːljʊleɪt] VI → ulular

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

ululate

vi (liter, mourning women) → (weh)klagen (liter); (dog etc) → heulen

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

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References in periodicals archive ?

Some women ululate in celebration as backers of Al Sissi shout in unison: "We love you, Sissi."

In Al Sissi's birthplace, voters show gratitude

The moment she saw her long lost son's clothes, the mother burst into tears butstarted to ululate in mixed emotions of nostalgia and celebratory happiness.

13 years later, IOF return martyr's clothes to family a day before son's wedding

In this poem, and as echoed in Ridzai mhere (Mourn loudly), Ridzai mupururu (Ululate), Mhondoro huru dzeZimbabwe (Major territorial spirit mediums of Zimbabwe), Mutswairo assumes the role of griot (court poet), who relentlessly chants emotional and evocative praises in honour of his chief-cum-symbol of black resistance against colonial subjugation.

5. Poetic aesthetics and the articulation of local and national sensibilities in Solomon Mutswairo's poetry

The point is that practically anybody with a strong pair of lungs can scream up and ululate an impressive thespic stormbut, to come up with a believably real portrayal, you need genuine insight and an empathetic heartand those qualities are much harder to come by!

Recent standout portrayals on TV

jazz trumpeter Hugh Masekela taught the crowd of Americans how to ululate.

Masekela leads crowd on boisterous romp

Judge Adel Abdel-Hamid said the court "accepts the request for retrial for both convicts" and that Moustafa and Sukkari's case would go to retrial in a criminal court, prompting some present in the packed chamber to cheer and ululate. A statement issued after the ruling said the original verdict had "mistakes in implementing the law" and the original court failed to respond to several core requests of the defense.