quavering 1 of 2

quavering

2 of 2

verb

present participle of quaver
as in trilling
to sing with the alternation of two musical tones know-it-alls snickered as the opera singer quavered on the high note

Synonyms & Similar Words

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of quavering
Adjective
Unmoored from tradition and offering only vague, impressionistic lyrics, Granli’s quavering performances on Rosacea become Rorschach tests, ripe for free association with whatever images your psyche can dredge up. — H.d. Angel, Pitchfork, 6 Feb. 2026
Verb
Tiny Silver was a birdlike woman, either very young or very old, quavering. — Literary Hub, 13 July 2026 Softly so as not to drown out the quavering notes, the congregation put words to the melody. — Orlando Sentinel Staff, The Orlando Sentinel, 4 July 2026 The combination of quavering flutes and solemn, unfamiliar corridors is disquieting. — Hazlitt, 10 Dec. 2025 Funke, her voice quavering throughout, recounted the events of the previous night. — Sasha Pezenik, ABC News, 5 Sep. 2025 Her voice quavering with emotion, Pawol talked about getting the news during a Wednesday conference call with director of umpire development Rich Rieker and vice president of umpire operations Matt McKendry. — Ronald Blum, Chicago Tribune, 7 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for quavering
Adjective
  • Those threads were already present in the original text, but by drawing them out fully, the filmmaker transforms this classic into something that feels startlingly resonant and contemporary.
    — Radhika Seth, Vogue, 29 Oct. 2026
  • This material should feel resonant, given how many families are split right now—over MAGA, over Israel—and how much of a default confessionalism has become online.
    — Emily Nussbaum, New Yorker, 23 Oct. 2026
Verb
  • The chihuahuan raven has a somewhat different vocalization, with more of a trilling quality to its croak.
    — Blythe Copeland, Martha Stewart, 31 Aug. 2026
  • Rock Harbor to Daisy Farm Campground This trail almost entirely follows the coast for 7 miles, with a soundtrack of lapping waves, trilling loons, and the occasional outboard motor.
    — Robert Annis, Midwest Living, 7 June 2026
Adjective
  • Beat writing—its jumpy jazz rhythms light and alliterative, so unlike Faulkner’s sonorous throat clearings—did not jive with McCarthy’s other influences.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 20 Oct. 2026
  • Possessed of a sonorous performer’s cadence that could switch registers from smarmy to silky as the sketch demanded, Parnell was the definition of the all-star utility player during his time on the show.
    — Dennis Perkins, Entertainment Weekly, 26 Sep. 2026
Adjective
  • Nine’s creaking, warbling cadence makes for a Thug/Carti hybrid that’s distinct but still close enough to be familiar and palatable.
    — Olivier Lafontant, Pitchfork, 16 Apr. 2026
  • The song may be six minutes long, but the circuitous lope of his acoustic-guitar strum and low throb of his warbling feel eternal, like the type of tune Sisyphus might have hummed to keep himself company.
    — Craig Jenkins, Vulture, 2 Dec. 2025
Adjective
  • This range gives his work room to move between club music, melodic influences, and records centered on relationships and life experiences.
    — Kaitlyn Gomez, Miami Herald, 23 Oct. 2026
  • Those collaborations helped establish him as one of hip-hop’s most recognizable melodic voices even before the arrival of his first solo LP.
    — Jessica Lynch, Billboard, 20 Oct. 2026
Adjective
  • Their voice is gone, longtime public address announcer Lawrence Tanter dying last month at age 76 after more than four decades of dulcet downtown tones.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 19 Oct. 2026
  • The enchanting woodsy and pastoral backgrounds when the action moves from the residential suburbs to the rural outskirts add to that poignancy, as do the dulcet tones of Randy Newman’s score.
    — David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 16 June 2026
Adjective
  • James, always an exacting rhythmic engineer, was now dividing the beat into fragments tiny enough to push at the very edge of rhythm itself.
    — Andy Cush, Pitchfork, 31 Oct. 2026
  • Members of the orchestra, and sometimes the music director, select the excerpts to test technical skills, for example rhythmic precision or control in the high register.
    — Jeremy Reynolds Ross Mantle, New York Times, 28 Oct. 2026
Adjective
  • But his presence, his apparent delight as adults in scuba suits shoot themselves out of helicopters in pursuit of gold, is part of what makes the show so appealing.
    — Doreen St. Félix, New Yorker, 24 Oct. 2026
  • One of the appealing aspects of building an NFL stadium in Inglewood was the speed with which a development agreement could be assembled and approved.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 23 Oct. 2026

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Cite this Entry

“Quavering.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/quavering. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

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