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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Figure skater Amber Glenn skated off the ice, shaking her head after an early landing bobble during today's competition.—
Andrew Greif,
NBC news,
8 Feb. 2026
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Both physical strength and constant mental attention are required for this sport in order to control heart rate and shaking in the muscles.—
Janet Loehrke,
USA Today,
8 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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That week’s host, Emily Blunt, did the trembly voice-over.—
Michael Schulman,
The New Yorker,
21 Dec. 2020
Noun
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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
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Patients first experience twitching or weakness in a limb, as Decker did.—
Cara Lynn Shultz,
PEOPLE,
16 Dec. 2025
Verb
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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
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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
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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
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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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Anyone who has experienced a sound bath will recognize how quickly rhythmic sound and vibration can induce a sense of calm.—
Chloe Burcham,
Vogue,
5 Feb. 2026
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This balancing service corrects the weight distribution of the tire and reduces vibrations from the road while driving.—
Keenan Thompson,
USA Today,
5 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 14 Feb. 2026.
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