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Recent Examples of whinny
Verb
The downy woodpecker also whinnies like a miniature horse throughout the breeding season.—Sheryl De Vore, Chicago Tribune, 21 Jan. 2025 That doesn’t include food for the horses, who start whinnying.—Keith Phipps, Vulture, 22 Mar. 2024 Don’t look a gift horse in the mouth is one of the oldest proverbs known to humankind, whinnying back at least 1,500 years.—Richard Lederer, San Diego Union-Tribune, 11 May 2024 Kenny was large for his age, with a flat, flabby face and a high, whinnying voice.—Aryn Kyle, Harper's Magazine, 26 Feb. 2024 Waffles, patient and unbothered as onlookers walked around and stopped to gaze, nickered as another horse on the other side of the massive stalls whinnied.—James Hartley, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 26 Jan. 2024 Some unidentified whinnying joins the cacophony that accompanies gentrification—brash and brazen, with a total disregard for anything other than its own bullish desire.—Rebecca Haithcoat, GQ, 5 June 2018 The 10-year-old mare bucked, whinnied, and galloped, sensing the pride of victory.—Mitchell Gladstone, Philly.com, 2 June 2018 The forecast was calling for rain the next day, an element as necessary for all this — the flowering plant life, the whinnying animal life — as is the sun.—John Kelly, Washington Post, 29 Apr. 2018
Noun
Wild ponies, svelte & savage, graze in dune grasses, whinny, yawn.—J.t. Townley, The New York Review of Books, 6 Mar. 2025 This works, Brian says, and leans back against the wall, the dog panting less, the faint whinny of a horse, an airplane.—Paul Yoon, The New Yorker, 20 Oct. 2024 One of the horses fell on its side, its high whinny like a human scream.—Nick Romano, EW.com, 12 Dec. 2022 Laughter punctuates the exaggerated whinnies, proving that the source is not in fact a horse.—Kalyn Kahler, SI.com, 11 June 2018 But the methodical, meditative act of grooming a horse — brush, brush, brush — and the smell of hay and the gentle whinnies from the 1,200-pound creature have been therapy for Alger.—Petula Dvorak, Washington Post, 17 May 2018 An astonishing collection of laughs — whinnies, giggles, squeals, snorts, heaves — gradually colors the narrative, until this seemingly harmless man becomes, in effect, not just a witness to savagery, but also an accessory.—Jesse Green, New York Times, 11 Jan. 2018 Animal grunts and growls, horse neighs and whinnies.—Charles Desmarais, San Francisco Chronicle, 17 Apr. 2018 More important, the track is where Charley meets a pretty quarter horse named Lean on Pete, whose velvety brown coat and barely audible whinnies become a balm for the lonely teenager.—Manohla Dargis, New York Times, 5 Apr. 2018
The soldiers muttered encouragement; their horses nickered.
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Tom Vanden Brook,
USA TODAY,
6 Jan. 2025
Waffles, patient and unbothered as onlookers walked around and stopped to gaze, nickered as another horse on the other side of the massive stalls whinnied.
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James Hartley,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
26 Jan. 2024
Frontman Bryan Garris let out a mighty pig squeal as guest vocalist Poppy thrashed and screamed across the stage, dressed like an even more macabre girl from The Ring.
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Brenna Ehrlich,
Rolling Stone,
12 Feb. 2025
Listen for a squeal and know that your prank was a success!
20.
The Republican conference is rife with sticking points as budget hawks squawk and some House Republicans insist on increasing the state and local tax deduction.
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Taylor Giorno,
The Hill,
30 Dec. 2024
There’s no dialogue, at least none decipherable to human ears — everything is a symphony of meows, woofs, squawks, grunts, squeaks, squeals and simian cries.
The tornado’s roar lasted only five seconds, but that was enough to demolish Bott’s service station, a family business and a Moundville, Missouri, landmark, leaving Bott in shock and with a feeling of uncertainty.
—
Tammy Ljungblad,
Kansas City Star,
3 Apr. 2025
Mid-set, Durst made a surprise entrance to sing alongside her, to the roar of the crowd.
Bonobos, great apes related to us and chimpanzees that live in the Republic of Congo, communicate with vocal calls including peeps, hoots, yelps, grunts, and whistles.
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ArsTechnica,
ArsTechnica,
3 Apr. 2025
Instead, the yelps and clucks from three calls orchestrated by Dr. H. S. (Buck) Banton had resulted in our facing down a pair of Alabama gobblers in an area that didn’t have a single turkey before 1956.
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