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
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
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
-
Lost in the trembling of my own body, trembling like Bunny’s body.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
24 Sep. 2025
-
Olsen plays Joan’s indecision with winsome fluster, at first breathy and trembling but eventually finding her resolve.—
Richard Lawson,
HollywoodReporter,
8 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
Just two weeks ago, Japan’s new prime minister Sanae Takaichi was shaking hands with Chinese leader Xi Jinping.—
Jessie Yeung,
CNN Money,
12 Nov. 2025
-
As the title suggests, this sprawling tale centers on Raja, a man in his sixties who lives with his mother in Beirut, a city shaking with political and ecological turmoil.—
The New Yorker,
New Yorker,
10 Nov. 2025
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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Patients first experience twitching or weakness in a limb, often followed by slurred speech.—
Vanessa Etienne,
PEOPLE,
29 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
Andy sighed, shuddering between them.—
Bryan Washington,
New Yorker,
7 Sep. 2025
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The White House will be well aware of this fact, particularly in an environment where fiscally conservative Republicans will be shuddering at Uncle Sam’s $37 trillion (and growing) national debt.—
Eleanor Pringle,
Fortune,
20 Aug. 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
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Watts’s snare sound was really a mix of sounds—a thwacking snap on the head, the vibration of the air in the drum itself, the click of wood on the rim.—
John Lingan,
Rolling Stone,
8 Nov. 2025
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Shorebirds like sandpipers and plovers use this sense to detect prey beneath the sand by sensing subtle mechanical vibrations.—
Aamir Khollam,
Interesting Engineering,
7 Nov. 2025
Verb
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To that point, Olympia shouldn’t be allowed to play the jury the tear-jerking recording of Frank’s final phone call home as the water rose.—
Noel Murray,
Vulture,
31 Oct. 2025
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The Surprise Lining The most tear-jerking moment, however, was kept secret until the very last minute.—
Maria Morava,
MSNBC Newsweek,
29 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Quivering.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/quivering. Accessed 21 Nov. 2025.
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