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
Relevance
as in to shake
to make a series of small irregular or violent movements
aspen leaves quivering in the breeze
Synonyms & Similar Words
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
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 quiver
Literary Hub, 22 Jan. 2026
One arrow in this marine quiver is the use of aircraft to patrol over vast distances while dropping sonobuoys to seek out subs.
—New Atlas, 18 Jan. 2026
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
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
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
See All Example Sentences for quiver
Noun
As the last rusty leaves fell from the trees in the parks and historic piazzas, the birds swooped down, rummaging and pecking and shaking their feathers, then flew off again with quivers of delight.
—Literary Hub, 22 Jan. 2026
One arrow in this marine quiver is the use of aircraft to patrol over vast distances while dropping sonobuoys to seek out subs.
—New Atlas, 18 Jan. 2026
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
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
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
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
See All Example Sentences for quiver
Recent Examples of Synonyms for quiver
Adjective
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That week’s host, Emily Blunt, did the trembly voice-over.—
Michael Schulman,
The New Yorker,
21 Dec. 2020
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
Adjective
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The early returns were shaky, but with some adjustments — and with some time — Brown has brought the best version of his All-Star center to the floor.—
Kristian Winfield,
New York Daily News,
11 Apr. 2026
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One possibility is that the ceasefire lasts only two weeks, is shaky throughout – as seen with Israel’s bombing of Lebanon after the ceasefire was declared – and war resumes.—
Donald Heflin,
The Conversation,
10 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Quiver.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/quiver. Accessed 24 Apr. 2026.
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