They may be satisfied scream sounded more emotional to audience (8)
I believe the answer is:
criteria
'they' is the definition.
Both the definition and answer are plural nouns.
Maybe you can see a link between them that I can't see?
I cannot understand how the rest of the clue works.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for criteria that I've seen before include "Standards on which to base judgments" , "Canons" , "Principles or standards by which to judge" , "Standards on which to base judgment" , "Principles for judging" .)