scream vs shriek

scream

noun
  • An exclamation mark. 

  • A form of singing associated with the metal and screamo styles of music. It is a loud, rough, distorted version of the voice; rather than the normal voice of the singer. 

  • A loud, emphatic, exclamation of extreme emotion, especially horror, fear, excitement, or anger; it may comprise a word or a sustained, high-pitched vowel sound. 

  • Used as an intensifier. 

  • A loud vocalisation of many animals, especially in response to pain or fear. 

verb
  • To cry out with a shrill voice; to utter a sudden, shout outcry, or shrill, loud cry, as in fright or extreme pain; to screech, to shriek. 

  • To move quickly; to race. 

  • To be very indicative of; clearly having the characteristics of. 

shriek

noun
  • An exclamation mark. 

  • A sharp, shrill outcry or scream; a shrill wild cry such as is caused by sudden or extreme terror, pain, or the like. 

verb
  • To utter a loud, sharp, shrill sound or cry, as do some birds and beasts; to scream, as in a sudden fright, in horror or anguish. 

  • To utter sharply and shrilly; to utter in or with a shriek or shrieks. 

How often have the words scream and shriek occurred in a corpus of books? (source: Google Ngram Viewer )