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
Julia Harrison, Architectural Digest, 27 Jan. 2026
Over the years, Andrews has garnered comparisons to fellow Arizona native Linda Ronstadt for her rich, clear tone, which can modulate from quivering vibrato to crystalline belt on a dime.
—Lily Goldberg, Pitchfork, 20 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
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
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
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
Over the years, Andrews has garnered comparisons to fellow Arizona native Linda Ronstadt for her rich, clear tone, which can modulate from quivering vibrato to crystalline belt on a dime.
—Lily Goldberg, Pitchfork, 20 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
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
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
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Its strength ranges from mild, causing little more discomfort than a slight trembling, to severe, in which passengers or flight crew can be thrown around the cabin and risk injury if not wearing seatbelts.—
Cat Rainsford,
Popular Science,
15 Jan. 2026
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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
Verb
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After shaking off the flu, Arenas didn’t make his first bucket until almost midway through the second half.—
Ryan Kartje,
Los Angeles Times,
22 Feb. 2026
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Cameras showed audience members nodding along, shaking their shoulders and otherwise getting into the music.—
Georg Szalai,
HollywoodReporter,
22 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
That week’s host, Emily Blunt, did the trembly voice-over.—
Michael Schulman,
The New Yorker,
21 Dec. 2020
Noun
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The disease, which gets worse over time, starts with muscle twitching, slurred speech, or weakness in an arm or leg.—
Jason Pham,
StyleCaster,
20 Feb. 2026
-
After 10 weeks without food, Muraisi is experiencing involuntary muscular twitching and severe chest pains, according to Prisoners for Palestine, with her doctors warning of possible cardiovascular collapse.—
Kara Fox,
CNN Money,
14 Jan. 2026
Verb
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That all came to a shuddering halt after Khashoggi’s death.—
Isaac Chotiner,
New Yorker,
17 Feb. 2026
-
Sat shuddering in my seat as the lights drew down.—
Sally Jenkins,
The Atlantic,
15 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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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
-
The scientists then recorded the vibrations each animal made.—
Meghan Bartels,
Scientific American,
25 Feb. 2026
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Useful features include bright live-view EVFs for real-time framing and precise manual focus in darkness and an electronic shutter for vibration-free exposures.—
James Abbott,
Space.com,
25 Feb. 2026
Verb
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The room sighs in relief a second later when Buckley reanimates, jerking and flailing like a soul possessed, grinning maniacally — all on purpose, inspired by the earlier veil snafu.—
Sydney Bucksbaum,
Entertainment Weekly,
3 Feb. 2026
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Some signs that the carburetor is clogged on a snow blower are starting then dying a few seconds afterward, jerking, sputtering noises, and black smoke emitting from the exhaust.—
David Beaulieu,
The Spruce,
1 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Quivering.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/quivering. Accessed 28 Feb. 2026.
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