as in trembling
marked by or given to small uncontrollable bodily movements
our quivering dog tried to hide under the bed during the thunderstorm
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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
as in shaking
to make a series of small irregular or violent movements
aspen leaves quivering in the breeze
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of quivering
Joel M. Vance, Outdoor Life, 29 Oct. 2025
Outside Online, 10 Dec. 2025
Those of us without earplugs stupidly massaged our jaws, heads tilted, eyelids quivering, listening to overtones through our teeth.
—Jazz Monroe, Pitchfork, 28 Nov. 2025
Audiences are already quivering with anticip— ation.
—Jason P. Frank, Vulture, 29 Oct. 2025
A-fib is an irregular, quivering or often rapid heart rhythm resulting from the heart’s upper chambers, the atria, beating out of sync with the lower chambers, the ventricles.
—Kristen Rogers, CNN Money, 27 Oct. 2025
Noun
The old dog slowed to a stop, nose full of bird stink, feathery tail quivering.
—Joel M. Vance, Outdoor Life, 29 Oct. 2025
Verb
For Lusti, the highwire act has less to do with skiing over exposure that would turn the rest of us into quivering piles of jello and more to do with learning when her time outdoors stops being a refuge and starts being a hiding place.
—Outside Online, 10 Dec. 2025
Those of us without earplugs stupidly massaged our jaws, heads tilted, eyelids quivering, listening to overtones through our teeth.
—Jazz Monroe, Pitchfork, 28 Nov. 2025
Audiences are already quivering with anticip— ation.
—Jason P. Frank, Vulture, 29 Oct. 2025
A-fib is an irregular, quivering or often rapid heart rhythm resulting from the heart’s upper chambers, the atria, beating out of sync with the lower chambers, the ventricles.
—Kristen Rogers, CNN Money, 27 Oct. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for quivering
Noun
-
There’s Walter’s serene cello and Marjorie’s pensive, slightly coy violin, sometimes playful or petulant or, still, a little vain and secretive — other times thin and trembling, lost in the haze of dementia.—
Sara Holdren,
Vulture,
9 Dec. 2025
-
Lost in the trembling of my own body, trembling like Bunny’s body.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
24 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
Structure information summary Overall, the population in this region resides in structures that are highly resistant to earthquake shaking, though some vulnerable structures exist.—
CA Earthquake Bot,
Sacbee.com,
8 Jan. 2026
-
While Bryant was able to come from behind, the Lady Hornets had a hard time shaking off the Lady Warriors.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
7 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
That week’s host, Emily Blunt, did the trembly voice-over.—
Michael Schulman,
The New Yorker,
21 Dec. 2020
Noun
-
Patients first experience twitching or weakness in a limb, as Decker did.—
Cara Lynn Shultz,
PEOPLE,
16 Dec. 2025
-
The more serious side effects of caffeine overdose include trouble breathing, sudden high blood pressure, muscle twitching, confusion, vomiting and seizures.—
News Editor,
MSNBC Newsweek,
11 Dec. 2025
Verb
-
Most of the camp was enclosed with an electrified fence, to keep out the Big Men, the massive, shuddering ursids that could not be named (more on that later).—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
15 Dec. 2025
-
With haunted vocal multitracking and big, shuddering beats, the album builds to a climax in which hope and fear are swept into the same rush of human experience.—
Spencer Kornhaber,
The Atlantic,
12 Dec. 2025
Adjective
-
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
-
His good vibrations will never end.—
Walden Green,
Pitchfork,
12 Jan. 2026
-
The devices measure vibrations in the ground 100 times per second and generate data that Karina Bernal, 33, a doctoral student and researcher on the project, processed by using artificial intelligence to adapt algorithms developed for other volcanoes.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
11 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
That jerking motion, combined with detergent and water, loosens dirt from the surfaces of clothing.—
Mary Catherine McAnnally Scott,
Southern Living,
27 Dec. 2025
-
Sad to see Yang leave the comedy sketch series, viewers focused on saying their goodbyes rather than the tear-jerking sketch.—
Nicholas Rice,
PEOPLE,
21 Dec. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Quivering.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/quivering. Accessed 15 Jan. 2026.
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