quivering 1 of 3

quivering

2 of 3

noun

as in twitching
a series of slight movements by a body back and forth or from side to side the kids were fascinated by the quivering of the jellyfish and kept poking it to see it wiggle

Synonyms & Similar Words

quivering

3 of 3

verb

present participle of quiver

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 quivering
Noun
A-fib is a quivering or irregular heartbeat that is a worrisome stage-setter for blood clots, stroke and heart failure. — Maria Sherman, Chicago Tribune, 23 Sep. 2026 The horror has come now like a storm— what if this night prefigured the night after death— what if all thereafter was an eternal quivering on the edge of an abyss, with everything base and vicious in oneself urging one forward and the baseness and viciousness of the world just ahead. — Literary Hub, 3 Mar. 2026 The old dog slowed to a stop, nose full of bird stink, feathery tail quivering. — Joel M. Vance, Outdoor Life, 29 Oct. 2025
Verb
But because Sara is indeed only 17, wisdom is tempered by a quivering vulnerability as the reality of her pregnancy presses upon her, body and soul, forcing her to open up to Lina and discover the possibility of solidarity. — Beatrice Loayza, Variety, 30 Aug. 2026 But each of its eight-and-a-half minutes introduces a subtle mutation, rotating buzzing electronics and quivering guitars into the spotlight. — Arman Khan, Pitchfork, 4 Aug. 2026 Located on the street level of the Harbor Boulevard complex, the new shop gives dessert-loving denizens another place to pick up the quivering treat. — Brock Keeling, Oc Register, 26 May 2026 Johnston plays poor Bear as a quivering mess wracked with guilt that this monster — who used to be his friend — is the result of his own terrible decision-making. — Katie Walsh, Twin Cities, 23 May 2026 Maggie could see how the soles of her feet strained against the stirrups, her pale fists grinding into the platform, knuckles first and elbows quivering. — Literary Hub, 8 May 2026 In the 1970s, James Lovelock proposed that the biosphere was not just green scruff quivering on Earth's surface. — Big Think, 23 Apr. 2026 Few things shake the confidence of a person like crawling to the top bunk of a quivering bed frame, your feet wrapping uncomfortably along the frail metal rungs of the ladder. — Julia Harrison, Architectural Digest, 27 Jan. 2026 Danes is a four-time Golden Globe winner who brought her quivering lower lip to bear on the role of an author who thinks her next-door neighbor killed his wife. — Nate Jones, Vulture, 9 Jan. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for quivering
Adjective
  • Standing 10 yards in front of us on a corner of Wilshire Boulevard and Fairfax Avenue was a shivering elderly woman who looked lost.
    — Richard Greenberg, Los Angeles Times, 6 Feb. 2026
  • What she’s produced is a searching, pointedly disorienting text, studded with passages of extreme beauty and generous humor, that wears whimsy like a shivering veil over consuming discomfort, even terror.
    — Paul McAdory, Vulture, 22 Sep. 2025
Noun
  • Betelgeuse and the Pleiades hung—one billowing, one trembling—out of sight somewhere past the window frame.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 19 Aug. 2026
  • When the trembling decreased, the 27-year-old mother took the stairs seven stories down with her young child in her arms and evacuated the building.
    — Nicole Acevedo, NBC news, 10 Aug. 2026
Verb
  • Barra has since navigated a global pandemic, tariffs and supply-chain chaos, and the rise of AI as an unstoppable and industry-shaking force.
    — Alyson Shontell, Fortune, 2 Oct. 2026
  • For months before today’s launch, Google has been anticipating those problems on Earth, shaking spacecraft to simulate the launch and bombarding its chips with proton beams to test their response to radiation.
    — Peter Hall, Scientific American, 1 Oct. 2026
Adjective
  • The pitching staff has struggled, and the team needs to find a way to get four or five innings before turning the ball over to a shaky bullpen.
    — OutKick, FOXNews.com, 29 Sep. 2026
  • The night got off to a shaky start when NFL football got in the way of the CBS broadcast.
    — Lisa Gutierrez, Kansas City Star, 28 Sep. 2026
Noun
  • Casting near banks and using a twitching technique can increase success during the hatch.
    — Dac Collins, Outdoor Life, 14 May 2026
  • During this phase, octopuses display visible twitching along with rapid changes in skin color and texture, per NPR.
    — Samantha Agate, Miami Herald, 27 Mar. 2026
Verb
  • There’s the studio version, which has some really interesting production, with Meg’s shuddering percussion that eventually grates and distracts, and Jack’s very chunky guitar.
    — Rebecca Alter, Vulture, 25 Aug. 2026
  • These seemingly innocuous incidents attain new significance as they’re revisited alongside a slow crescendo that suddenly turns to shuddering piano chords on the track’s bridge.
    — Nick Ayres DeMasi, Pitchfork, 1 July 2026
Noun
  • Wang and Fuller are working on onboard solar cells and a battery, along with a vibration motor for turning, retractable feet to adjust its hop angle, and a camera and electronics for navigation.
    — Atharva Gosavi, Interesting Engineering, 26 Sep. 2026
  • As vibrations and other changes in the Earth altered the size of the gap, Benioff recorded the changes with a transducer.
    — Danny Robb, JSTOR Daily, 25 Sep. 2026
Verb
  • And like any great sitcom, Friends runs the gamut from numbing brain-rot to tear-jerking sentimentality.
    — Mack DeGeurin, Popular Science, 9 Sep. 2026
  • Even after a bailiff woke him up, Martin slumped over in his wheelchair, inside a courtroom bullpen, occasionally jerking and opening his eyes.
    — Nate Gartrell, Mercury News, 8 Sep. 2026

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Cite this Entry

“Quivering.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/quivering. Accessed 4 Oct. 2026.

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