howl·ing

(hou′lĭng)

adj.

1. Marked by the sound of howling: a howling wind.

2. Desolate; dreary: a howling wilderness.

3. Slang Very great; tremendous: a howling success.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

howling

(ˈhaʊlɪŋ)

adj

(prenominal) informal (intensifier): a howling success; a howling error.

ˈhowlingly adv

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

howl•ing

(ˈhaʊ lɪŋ)

adj.

1. desolate or dreary: a howling wasteland.

2. very great; tremendous: a howling triumph.

[1250–1300]

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Noun	1.	howling - a long loud emotional utterance; "he gave a howl of pain"; "howls of laughter"; "their howling had no effect" howl, ululation utterance, vocalization - the use of uttered sounds for auditory communication
Adj.	1.	howling - extraordinarily good or great ; used especially as intensifiers; "a fantastic trip to the Orient"; "the film was fantastic!"; "a howling success"; "a marvelous collection of rare books"; "had a rattling conversation about politics"; "a tremendous achievement" marvellous, marvelous, rattling, wonderful, wondrous, fantastic, terrific, tremendous, grand extraordinary - beyond what is ordinary or usual; highly unusual or exceptional or remarkable; "extraordinary authority"; "an extraordinary achievement"; "her extraordinary beauty"; "enjoyed extraordinary popularity"; "an extraordinary capacity for work"; "an extraordinary session of the legislature"

Translations

hurlement

enorme ululato

howling

[ˈhaʊlɪŋ] ADJ [success] → clamoroso

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

howling

[ˈhaʊlɪŋ] adj
a howling gale → un vent à décorner les bœufs

Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

howling

n (of person) → Gebrüll nt, → Geschrei nt; (= noisy crying, of animal) → Heulen nt, → Geheul nt; (of wind) → Heulen nt; stop that child’s howling! → bring das Kind zum Schweigen!

adj

(lit) → heulend

(inf: = tremendous) → enorm; a howling success → ein Riesenerfolg m

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

howling

[ˈhaʊlɪŋ] adj (wind, gale) → che ulula
howling success (fig) → successo travolgente

Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995

Mentioned in

References in classic literature

I know not, sir, when I got this habit of yawning, nor whether these attacks of howling were inflicted on me as a judgment for my crimes, or for any other cause; but this I do know, that when I yawn for the third time, I actually turn into a wolf and attack men." With this speech he commenced a second fit of yawning and again howled like a wolf, as he had at first.

View in context

They, too, sprang up and stood howling, with bristling hides and fiery eyes, and the smell of them came into my nostrils.

View in context

His comrades, the prisoner soldiers walking beside him, avoided looking back at the place where the shot had been fired and the dog was howling, just as Pierre did, but there was a set look on all their faces.

View in context

And when I again heard such howling, then did it excite my commiseration once more.

View in context

There was a dog howling all night under my window, which may have had something to do with it; or it may have been the paprika, for I had to drink up all the water in my carafe, and was still thirsty.

View in context

"Say, Tom -- they say a stray dog come howling around Johnny Miller's house, 'bout midnight, as much as two weeks ago; and a whippoorwill come in and lit on the banisters and sung, the very same evening; and there ain't anybody dead there yet."

View in context

He was throwing stones at howling urchins from Devil's Row who were circling madly about the heap and pelting at him.

View in context

It was a common trick with the boys--particularly if a stranger was present--to pretend a cramp and howl for help; then when the stranger came tearing hand over hand to the rescue, the howler would go on struggling and howling till he was close at hand, then replace the howl with a sarcastic smile and swim blandly away, while the town boys assailed the dupe with a volley of jeers and laughter.

View in context

First, because I'm on the same side of the door as you are; secondly, because they're making such a noise inside, no one could possibly hear you.' And certainly there was a most extraordinary noise going on within--a constant howling and sneezing, and every now and then a great crash, as if a dish or kettle had been broken to pieces.

View in context

They were howling at the very gates, and sometimes he and the Factor paused from the game to listen and laugh at the futile efforts of the wolves to get in.

View in context

how bitterly will burst those straps in the first howling gale, when thou art driven, straps, buttons, and all, down the throat of the tempest.

View in context

The howling of the wild dogs was henceforth heard no more; they had disappeared, and the country was freed from the trouble.

View in context