Synonyms of quiver

quiver 1 of 5

noun (1)

as in shiver

an instance of shaking involuntarily with fear or cold

a quiver ran through the audience when the monster cornered the movie's hero

Synonyms & Similar Words

• shiver
• shudder
• tremble
• tremor
• wave
• jolt
• wobble
• quake
• flutter
• shake
• agitation
• throb
• pulse
• vibration
• fluctuation
• oscillation
• pulsation
• palpitation
• convulsing
• beat

quiver

2 of 5

verb (1)

as in to shake

to make a series of small irregular or violent movements

aspen leaves quivering in the breeze

Synonyms & Similar Words

• shake
• shudder
• jerk
• tremble
• vibrate
• shiver
• twitch
• wobble
• quake
• bucket
• convulse
• jiggle
• sway
• jolt
• agitate
• throb
• swing
• jounce
• flicker
• flutter
• wave
• joggle
• judder
• rock
• chatter
• thrill
• quaver
• waver
• palpitate
• undulate
• fluctuate
• pulse
• pulsate
• oscillate
• dodder
• pit-a-pat
• beat
• pitter-patter

quivering

3 of 5

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

4 of 5

noun (2)

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

5 of 5

verb (2)

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 quiver

Noun

Up high, fresh laundry quivers in the breeze like bunting, pegged precariously to twine stretched taut between windows. — Esme Nicholson, NPR, 3 June 2026

Visually, the tunnel’s thick metal exterior quivers and soil shakes off it as each succeeding segment ignites. — Mack Degeurin, Popular Science, 6 May 2026

Verb

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

In my mind, church potlucks and family picnics blur together into one long table lined with bright yellow pudding dotted with vanilla wafers, three-bean salad, and quivering ambrosia. — Jill Robbins, Southern Living, 26 May 2026

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

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