shriek vs whisper

shriek

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. 

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. 

whisper

verb
  • To speak with suspicion or timorous caution; to converse in whispers, as in secret plotting. 

  • To speak softly, or under the breath, so as to be heard only by one near at hand; to utter words without sonant breath; to talk without that vibration in the larynx which gives sonorous, or vocal, sound. 

  • To make a low, sibilant sound. 

  • To mention privately and confidentially, or in a whisper. 

noun
  • A private message to an individual in a chat room. 

  • A low rustling sound, like that of the wind in leaves. 

  • A rumor. 

  • A faint trace or hint (of something). 

  • The act of speaking in a quiet voice, especially, without vibration of the vocal cords. 

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