yawp means A yelp or bark. It carries an Arena rating of 1530, earned across 2 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, yawp ranks #100 of 17,115 for Most Vivid Words, #443 of 17,130 for Most Ingenious Words, #1,045 of 17,150 for Funniest Words, #2,331 of 17,114 for Most Satisfying to Say.
yawp is pronounced /jɔːp/.
Why “yawp” is a great word
A loud, harsh, or raucous cry or utterance, or the act of producing one, from Middle English yolpen, of imitative origin (akin to yelp). Unlike yelp—a sharp, startled puncture of sound—or clamor—a churning sea of many voices—a yawp is a solitary, sustained, and deliberately graceless emission. It is the raw-throated protest of a startled crow, the hoarse announcement from a bare branch, and the ragged complaint hurled at the uncaring moon—a sound scraped from the chest, leaving the throat sore and the air trembling with its untamed insistence.
Etymology
From Middle English yolpen, of imitative origin.
noun
- A yelp or bark.
- Loud or coarse talk.e.g.“I sound my barbaric yawp over the roofs of the world. - Walt Whitman”
verb
- To yelp, or utter a sharp cry, as in intense pain, or another raucous noise.
- To talk loudly and coarsely.
- To clamor, to utter loud complaints.
Words closest in meaning
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