curdle

The light didn’t fade so much as curdle.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 10, 2026

A practicing Mormon, Coppins had no previous experience with gambling but quickly learned how easily the “joyful naivete” of his initial use “could curdle into delusion and compulsion.”

From Slate ● May 5, 2026

As co-written by Baumbach and Emily Mortimer, the reunion between the two former acting buddies starts warm but quickly begins to curdle.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 7, 2025

But I think that people think sometimes you'd be like, 'Oh, cream and citrus together, it going to curdle?'

From Salon ● Dec. 21, 2024

It hadn’t taken long for a nasty feeling to curdle in his belly, and a day later, it had continued to linger.

From "Beasts of Prey" by Ayana Gray

Hilarious and incisive, the humor never draws blood, never curdles.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 25, 2026

There may be an undercurrent of gossip, like the hints of discord between Affleck and Leavitt, but nothing that curdles our mood.

From Salon ● Nov. 4, 2025

I’ve seen it over and over in my practice: A gesture that is initially received with intense gratitude curdles into hurt or anger.

From Slate ● Mar. 23, 2025

Dr. Ash’s old-world affect tilts and curdles, his mien shifting from twinkly “Mad Men” gentility to something cooler and more menacing.

From New York Times ● May 25, 2023

You have read this strange and terrific story, Margaret; and do you not feel your blood congeal with horror, like that which even now curdles mine?

From "Frankenstein" by Mary Shelley

When Megan asked, "Whose first concert is this?" the air curdled with screams.

From BBC ● Sep. 4, 2026

And when the Bucks chose to send Antetokounmpo to the Miami Heat instead, the Celtics’ dream scenario had suddenly curdled into a nightmare.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 3, 2026

Colombian writer-director Simón Mesa Soto’s acutely observed Cannes-recognized “A Poet” lays bare that torment with the tale of a has-been writer for whom exquisite suffering has curdled into garden-variety middle-age failure.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 30, 2026

Even as investor sentiment has curdled, TD Cowen believes a sustained appetite for data-center spending could cause Vertiv’s customer orders to accelerate as soon as the fourth quarter.

From Barron's ● Dec. 1, 2025

During the freeze, the chemicals had separated and the once-smooth liquid was as lumpy and runny as curdled milk.

From "The Glass Castle" by Jeannette Walls

“Admiration was quickly curdling into hostility,” he writes.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 20, 2026

He returned to a hometown that seemed to be developing under that same American planning influence whose reputation was curdling up north.

From Slate ● Dec. 22, 2024

The tagline — “What a guy! What a lug! What a hero! What a bum!” — illustrates the tentative truce between fans and umpires that is always, inevitably, one call from curdling.

From Seattle Times ● May 31, 2024

That queasy, curdling feeling has finally been conquered.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 30, 2024

I end up hunching over and slinking away, shame curdling inside me then reaching its fingers to wrap tight around my body.

From "Saints and Misfits" by S.K. Ali