Hurl Meaning
/hɜːl/Definition, CEFR level C1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
verbTo throw (something) with force.
verbTo utter (harsh or derogatory speech), especially at its target.
Sentence Examples
I hoped you could hurl some lumens into the gloom.
If you hurl a handful of stones, at least one will hit.
CEFR Practice Quiz
He wound up his arm and prepared to ____ the ball across the field.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The strong athlete managed to ____ the heavy discus further than any other competitor.
Word Origin & History
Inherited from Middle English hurlen, of onomatopoeic origin; compare hurry, hurtle.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"Thou shalt have Preists immers’t in lust and gluttony
And bishops three times married, thy cathedrals
The Seats where Prayer and hospitality
Should dwel, shall be the taverns
Where Drunken bowles incessantly goe round
In leud debauch and midnight dice are hurld,
The beds wherein the wearied Pilgrim us’d
To ease his crippled Limbs, he now shall find
Possess’t with Women, nurses, she attandants,
And a Dishonest brood of ugly children."
— a. 1722, Matthew Prior, “Fragment”, in H. Bunker Wright, Monroe K. Spears, editors, The Literary Works of Matthew Prior, Second edition, volume I, Oxford: Clarendon Press, published 1971, pages 720–721:
"I was standing on the edge of the conning-tower, when a heavy palm suddenly struck me between the shoulders and hurled me forward into space. The drop to the triangular deck forward of the conning-tower might easily have broken a leg for me, or I might have slipped off onto the deck and rolled overboard; but fate was upon my side, as I was only slightly bruised."
— 1918, Edgar Rice Burroughs, The Land That Time Forgot, Chapter IV:
"The Tottenham wing was causing havoc down the right and when he broke past the bemused Sasa Balic once again, Bellamy was millimetres from connecting with his cross as the Liverpool striker hurled himself at the ball."
— 2011 September 2, “Wales 2-1 Montenegro”, in BBC:
"Tarzan on his part never lost an opportunity to show that he fully reciprocated his foster father's sentiments, and whenever he could safely annoy him or make faces at him or hurl insults upon him from the safety of his mother's arms, or the slender branches of the higher trees, he did so."
— 1912, Edgar Rice Burroughs, Tarzan of the Apes, Chapter 5:
"Those who passed by hurled insults at him, shaking their heads and saying, “So! You who are going to destroy the temple and build it in three days, come down from the cross and save yourself!""
— 1984, New International Version of the Bible, Mark 15:29-30:
Explore More C1 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
He wound up his arm and prepared to ____ the ball across the field.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The strong athlete managed to ____ the heavy discus further than any other competitor.