Basic Details
Word: Cackling
Part of Speech: Verb
Meaning: Laughing in a loud, harsh way; also making the sharp, broken cry of a hen.
Synonyms: guffawing, screeching, chortling
How to Spell Cackling
Syllables: cack - ling
Tricky part: The middle has ck, not k or c alone. Cackle loses its final e before -ing, so there is no e in cackling.
Watch out for: cakling, cackleing, cacling
Memory tip: Start from cackle: keep the ck, drop the final e, add ing. It works the same way as tickle and tickling.
Usage Examples
Example 1: The witch in the school play kept cackling at the top of her voice.
Example 2: We heard the hens cackling in the coop behind Nani's house.
Example 3: The boys sat cackling over a silly video at the back of the bus.
Fun Fact
Cackle is an echoic word: its sound copies the noise it names, just like quack, cuckoo and sizzle.
Practise the CREST Way
Spell-o-Spell
Only one word in the list is spelt correctly. Choose the meaning of that word.
1. broomstik 2. sorcerror 3. cackling 4. cauldren
a) a large metal pot for boiling things over a fire
b) laughing in a loud, harsh way
c) a man believed to have magic powers
d) a brush with a long handle for sweeping
Show answer
b) laughing in a loud, harsh way. The witch's kit is misspelt: sorcerer, cauldron and broomstick. Cackling is the correct word.
Word Connection
Choose the word closest in meaning to cackling as used in the sentence:
The uncles sat on the verandah, cackling at an old joke they had heard a hundred times.
a) sighing
b) sobbing
c) mumbling
d) guffawing
Show answer
d) guffawing. Cackling is loud, harsh laughter, and guffawing is loud laughter too; sobbing is crying.
Word Cookie
Fill in the missing letters:
ca_kl_ng
a) k, e
b) k, i
c) c, i
d) c, e
Show answer
c) c, i. The first gap makes ck, and the -ing ending fills the second gap with i.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. Which farm bird is best known for cackling?
a) the peacock
b) the duck
c) the parrot
d) the hen
Show answer
d) the hen
2. Cackling laughter usually sounds ____.
a) sweet and musical
b) silent
c) harsh and loud
d) soft and gentle
Show answer
c) harsh and loud
