screaming

screaming — verb

1. the -ing form of the verb 'scream', used when someone is making a very loud, hig

1.verbtransitive / intransitiveA2
Definition

the -ing form of the verb 'scream', used when someone is making a very loud, high-pitched sound because they are afraid, in pain, very angry, or very excited, or to describe an action that happens at the same time as the scream

Example

The baby was screaming so loudly that Soraya could not hear the phone ring.

progressive tense: was + screaming + adverb (so loudly)

Adina woke up screaming after a terrible nightmare about a fire in her apartment building.

participle describing simultaneous action: woke up + screaming

Common collocations
  • scream loudly
  • scream with pain
  • scream for help
  • scream at someone
  • wake up screaming
  • start screaming
  • stop screaming

Grammar Patterns

scream + at + someone

scream + that-clause

scream + with + emotion (fear, pain, laughter, excitement)

wake up / run off / come + screaming (participle)

Usage Note

As a present participle, 'screaming' is commonly used in progressive tenses (was screaming, is screaming) and as a gerund subject (Screaming will not help). It also appears in participle phrases describing simultaneous action (ran off screaming, came running and screaming).

Common Mistakes

She was screaming him from across the street.
She was screaming at him from across the street.
When directing a scream toward someone, use the preposition 'at'.
I heard someone screaming, but I did not see who was it.
I heard someone screaming, but I did not see who it was.
In reported questions, keep the subject before the verb.

screaming — adjective

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: adjective/2

All four words mean 'very funny', but they differ in tone and context. 'Hilarious' is the most common and neutral choice — you can use it in almost any situation, from informal chats to reviews ('That movie was hilarious'). 'Screaming' is more informal and dramatic; it suggests laughter so intense it sounds like screaming, and is typical of British informal speech ('His stand-up routine was screaming'). 'Side-splitting' is vivid and colloquial, implying laughter that is physically painful ('a side-splitting comedy sketch'). 'Uproarious' shifts focus from the individual to the group reaction — it describes a scene of noisy, chaotic laughter ('uproarious laughter filled the hall'). In terms of register: hilarious (neutral) < uproarious (formal/literary) < screaming (informal) < side-splitting (very colloquial).

screaming ↗hilarious ↗side-splittinguproarious

Common collocations

Nouns

  • scream
  • screaming fit
  • screaming match

Adverbs

Phrases

  • screaming with laughter
  • screaming in pain
  • screaming for attention

Etymology

Old EnglishMiddle EnglishEnglish

The word 'screaming' comes from the Old English verb 'scrǣman', meaning to resound or cry out loudly, which is related to similar words in other Germanic languages such as Middle Dutch 'schreien'. The present participle form 'screaming' has been used since Old English times. The adjective meanings — 'very noticeable' (19th century), 'very funny' (early 20th century), and 'extremely fast or powerful' (mid-20th century) — all developed metaphorically from the idea of something so extreme that it makes you want to scream.