curdle

verb

cur·​dle ˈkər-dᵊl How to pronounce curdle (audio)
curdled; curdling ˈkərd-liŋ How to pronounce curdle (audio)
ˈkər-dᵊl-iŋ
Synonyms of curdlenext

intransitive verb

1
: to form curds
also : to congeal as if by forming curds
a scream curdled in her throat
2
: to go bad or wrong : spoil

transitive verb

1
: to cause curds to form in
curdled milk
2
: spoil, sour

Examples of curdle in a Sentence

Too much heat will make the custard curdle. Too much heat will curdle the custard.
Recent Examples on the Web Cohn taught him well, and celebrity only further curdled him. —David Fear, Rolling Stone, 21 May 2024 Even the trailer for Oz Perkins’ horror feature curdles the blood. —Randy Myers, The Mercury News, 13 May 2024 See all Example Sentences for curdle 

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'curdle.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

metathetic variant of cruddle, crudle, frequentative of crud entry 2

First Known Use

1585, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of curdle was in 1585

Phrases Containing curdle

Dictionary Entries Near curdle

curd knife

curdle

curdly

See More Nearby Entries 

Cite this Entry

“Curdle.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/curdle. Accessed 29 May. 2024.

Copy Citation

Share

Kids Definition

curdle

verb
cur·​dle ˈkərd-ᵊl How to pronounce curdle (audio)
curdled; curdling ˈkərd-liŋ How to pronounce curdle (audio)
-ᵊl-iŋ
1
: to form curds
2
: to cause curds to form in
high heat curdled the custard
3
—used in expressions such as make one's blood curdle to indicate a feeling of terror
a ghost story that will make your blood curdle

More from Merriam-Webster on curdle

Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for curdle

Nglish: Translation of curdle for Spanish Speakers

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See All

More Commonly Misspelled Words

Commonly Misspelled Words

How to Use Em Dashes (—), En Dashes (–) , and Hyphens (-)

Absent Letters That Are Heard Anyway

How to Use Accents and Diacritical Marks
See All

Popular in Wordplay

See All

Pilfer: How to Play and Win

The Words of the Week - May 24

Flower Etymologies For Your Spring Garden

9 Superb Owl Words

10 Words for Lesser-Known Games and Sports
See All

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Word Game You can make only 12 words. Pick the best ones!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
Missing Letter A crossword with a twist
winning words from the national spelling bee logo
Spelling Bee Quiz Can you outdo past winners of the National Spelli...