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
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of quiver
Carly Tagen-Dye,
PEOPLE,
6 Apr. 2026
The marvel of the play, and of this keenly staged and performed production, is its emotional volatility, the quiver of truth behind the percolating dialogue of evasion or shaming accusation.
—
Steven Winn,
San Francisco Chronicle,
3 Apr. 2026
Taran Dugal,
New Yorker,
23 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
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
Nina Corcoran,
Pitchfork,
26 Feb. 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
See All Example Sentences for quiver
Noun
His voice was low in her ears, sending a quiver dancing up and down her spine.
—
Carly Tagen-Dye,
PEOPLE,
6 Apr. 2026
The marvel of the play, and of this keenly staged and performed production, is its emotional volatility, the quiver of truth behind the percolating dialogue of evasion or shaming accusation.
—
Steven Winn,
San Francisco Chronicle,
3 Apr. 2026
Verb
Within minutes, revellers were gasping for breath; their nostrils quivered, their lips turned blue.
—
Taran Dugal,
New Yorker,
23 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
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
The mesmerizing evolution reaches its peak when a quivering guitar solo jettisons into view.
—
Nina Corcoran,
Pitchfork,
26 Feb. 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
See All Example Sentences for quiver
Recent Examples of Synonyms for quiver
Noun
-
This is sending shivers down the spines of regular Democrats, who now sheepishly admit the party has been turned over to the left-wing loons.
-
The warning that exuberant investors might not be quite rational sent temporary shivers through global stock markets.
Verb
-
Hernández said Rossi Ydrogo had just called his brother in Caracas 20 minutes before the earth started to shake.
-
In Venezuela, rescue teams have been racing against the clock to pull survivors from the rubble after two powerful earthquakes shook the northern state of La Guaira last Wednesday.
Noun
-
The tensions, which have sent a shudder across many American industries, have prompted Washington to seek new sources of rare earths.
-
Whoever ends up playing the America 250 or (shudder) Freedom 250 gigs, the Chicks are our pick for Band of the Sesquicentennial.
Verb
-
Watching their relationship devolve (never more so than when their sperm donor, a rakish, motorcycle-driving restaurant owner played by Mark Ruffalo, enters the scene) is most definitely a tear-jerking experience, as is the film’s final scene.
-
Some were petty — like Reese committing a foul against Clark, then jerking her head back, impersonating Clark as a flopper.
Noun
-
Be a good child, do what they’re told, be the best child, a tremble in their hands, say nothing, tensed for the knock on the door.
-
Ultimately, the recent market trembles reveal less about the immediate dangers of AI and more about the precarious psychology of modern trading.
Verb
-
These bees vibrate flowers to release the pollen, improving pollination and fruit set.
-
Ongoing work in string theory — the idea that our universe, at its smallest, most fundamental level, is made up of vibrating strings — suggests a way these concepts might be connected.
Cite this Entry
“Quiver.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/quiver. Accessed 1 Jul. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
