Synonyms of quivering

quivering 1 of 3

adjective

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

• trembling
• shaking
• trembly
• shuddering
• shivering
• shaky
• quaking
• tremulous
• atremble
• wobbly
• quavery
• wobbling
• tottering
• shuddery
• tottery
• aquiver
• unsteady
• throbbing
• convulsive
• shivery
• palpitating
• wavering
• pulsating
• rocky
• unstable
• wavery
• staggery

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• stable
• steady
• controlled
• firm
• settled

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

• trembling
• twitching
• shaking
• vibration
• shivering
• shuddering
• tremor
• quaking
• oscillation
• tremble
• jiggling
• twitch
• shake
• quiver
• rocking
• shudder
• shiver
• palpitation
• juddering
• jiggle

quivering

3 of 3

verb

present participle of quiver

as in shaking

to make a series of small irregular or violent movements

aspen leaves quivering in the breeze

Synonyms & Similar Words

• shaking
• shuddering
• jerking
• trembling
• vibrating
• shivering
• quaking
• twitching
• convulsing
• wobbling
• swaying
• jiggling
• jolting
• jouncing
• agitating
• throbbing
• juddering
• flickering
• swinging
• fluttering
• waving
• quavering
• rocking
• joggling
• bucketing
• chattering
• thrilling
• wavering
• palpitating
• fluctuating
• pulsing
• oscillating
• undulating
• pulsating
• doddering
• pitter-pattering
• beating
• pit-a-patting

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of quivering

Noun

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 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

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