pulsate

verb

pul·​sate ˈpəl-ˌsāt 

also ˌpəl-ˈsāt

pulsated; pulsating

intransitive verb

1

: to throb or move rhythmically : vibrate

2

: to exhibit a pulse or pulsation : beat

Synonyms of pulsate

• throb
• vibrate
• beat
• pulse

Examples of pulsate in a Sentence

The lights pulsated with the music.

People danced to the pulsating sounds of hip-hop.

Virtually every scene of the movie pulsates with suspense.

Recent Examples on the Web

What is harder to summon from this distance is the pulsating chaos of that day, hour by hour. — Ann Gerhart, Washington Post, 11 Sep. 2026

An ominous, pulsating soundtrack begins to play as the camera pulls away to reveal the living room of the beachside home and the infant in a bouncy chair. — Martha Ross, Mercury News, 8 Sep. 2026

Not Netflix‘s The Whisper Man, though, which doesn’t need the extra time and sails by in under two hours as a movie in a pulsating pace that keeps us engaged and guessing from beginning to end. — Pete Hammond, Deadline, 27 Aug. 2026

Even in the dusty, mundane space of the cabinet, the stock-still object pulsated with wild energy. — Wilbert L. Cooper, Longreads, 25 Aug. 2026

Word History

Etymology

in part borrowed from Latin pulsātus, past participle of pulsāre "to strike with repeated blows, beat, (in passive) beat wildly (of the heart)," frequentative or repetitive derivative of pellere "to beat against, push, strike"; in part from pulse entry 1 + -ate entry 4 — more at pulse entry 1

First Known Use

1744, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for pulsate

• abate
• airfreight
• await
• baseplate
• berate
• birthdate
• birthrate
• bookplate
• borate
• breastplate
• bromate
• casemate

Kids Definition

pulsate

verb

pul·​sate ˈpəl-ˌsāt 

pulsated; pulsating

1

: to throb or move rhythmically

2

: to exhibit a pulse or pulsation : beat

a heart pulsating

Medical Definition

pulsate

intransitive verb

pul·​sate

ˈpəl-ˌsāt also ˌpəl-ˈ

pulsated; pulsating

: to exhibit a pulse or pulsation

a pulsating artery