What does ululation mean?
Ululation is a formal noun for a loud cry or sustained wail that expresses intense feeling. Its most familiar modern use is for the collective excitement of an audience, as in reports of ululations of joy or delight, but it can equally describe a cry of grief, pain, or lament. Because the word carries a heightened, emotive quality, it appears more often in literary, journalistic, and historical writing than in ordinary conversation. Plural forms such as “ululations” frequently suggest the sound of a crowd reacting collectively. The word has an unusual history: it originally referred to the cry of an owl and only later acquired its broader associations with human cries and outcries. Ululation is therefore useful not only as a precise term for an expressive vocal outburst but also as a vivid example of how a word can shift from a specific natural sound to a broader emotional description.
nounA loud, sustained cry or wail expressing strong emotion, especially joy, excitement, grief, or lament. Historically, it also referred to the cry of an owl.
- A loud cry expressing joy, excitement, surprise, or enthusiasm.
- A sustained cry of grief, pain, or lament.
- Historically, the cry or call of an owl.
"The crowd's ululation of delight reverberated through the stadium."
"Ululations of excitement greeted the runners as they entered the stadium."
"Her ululation of grief echoed through the empty hall."
Ululations is the standard plural and is especially common when referring to the collective cries of a crowd. The noun can also be used uncountably for the act or sound of ululating.
"Ululations of applause and delight filled the arena."
The word began with the cry of an owl and gradually came to describe the piercing cheers and wails of human beings.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of ululation
Ululation entered English in the early 17th century from the Latin noun ululatio, formed from ululatus, the past participle of ululare, meaning “to howl.” Latin ululare was an imitative verb associated with ulula, “owl,” and the earliest English sense referred specifically to an owl's cry. The meaning later broadened to include the loud cries of people expressing strong emotion. English ululate and ululatory belong to the same Latin root.
How ululation is actually used
Ululation is literary and emotionally heightened rather than neutral everyday vocabulary. It may refer to an individual cry or, in the plural, to a collective expression of emotion.
Easily confused with ululation
An ululation is a loud cry or wail, whereas an allusion is an indirect or passing reference to something.