hurlement
/yʁ.lə.mɑ̃/
Howling in French is hurlement.
The noun hurlement refers to the act of producing howls and is used for both animal sounds (like wolves) and human sounds (like screams or loud cries of pain). You may also encounter the phrase Hurler de rire to express the idea of howling with laughter.
Meaning: act of producing howls (noun)
How does it change in a sentence?
The plural form of the noun is hurlements. The related verb form is hurler, which means to howl.
How do you pronounce it?
hurlement is pronounced /yʁ.lə.mɑ̃/. It has 3 syllables.
Did you know?
- There is a distinct difference between hurlement and cri. While a cri is any shout, a hurlement implies a loss of control or a primal state.
- The word hurlement can describe a sound so intense that it is used metaphorically in French to describe a 'hurlement de vent', or a howling wind, suggesting a sentient, almost vocal quality to the weather.
- The suffix '-ment' in hurlement is a common way to turn a verb into a noun, but it does not mean 'mentally' as it does in English-derived adverbs.
Examples in context
- Les hurlements devinrent de plus en plus forts.The howling grew louder and louder.This sentence shows how to describe the intensity of hurlement increasing over time.Tatoeba #8612887 by Aiji, translation #8010890 by AlanF_US
- Le loup hurle dans la nuitThe wolf is howling in the night
- Nous avons hurlé de rire en écoutant cette blagueWe howled with laughter while listening to that joke
- Il a ri aux éclats devant ce spectacle comiqueHe howled with laughter at that comedic show
- Les loups hurlent à la lune chaque nuitThe wolves howl at the moon every night
- En entendant la blague, ils ont ri aux éclatsUpon hearing the joke, they howled with laughter
- Quand ils ont vu la scène comique, ils se sont marrés comme des fousWhen they saw the comedic scene, they howled with laughter like crazy
- On entend un hurlement dans la forêt.We can hear a howl in the forest.
- Le hurlement du loup m'a réveillé.The howl of the wolf woke me up.
Example conversation
Nathan and Emma are sitting in their living room late at night.
- NathanTu as entendu ce hurlement ?Did you hear that howl?
- EmmaOui, c'était terrifiant, Nathan.Yes, it was terrifying, Nathan.
- NathanJe pense qu'un animal est dehors.I think an animal is outside.
- EmmaJ'espère que ce n'est qu'un chien.I hope it is just a dog.
Sources
- Pronunciation: Wiktionary entry hurlement, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
