as in trembling
a series of slight movements by a body back and forth or from side to side
the shivering of the crystal chandeliers while there was construction work next door
Synonyms & Similar Words
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as in shivery
Related Words
Dissimilar Words
1
as in quivering
Related Words
Dissimilar Words
2
as in splitting
Related Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of shivering
Cindy Krischer Goodman, Sun Sentinel, 5 Mar. 2026
Symptoms are fatigue, confusion, disorientation, excessive shivering and loss of coordination.
—Amanda McCoy, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 30 Jan. 2026
Once moderate hypothermia sets in, the opposite effect happens — heart rate, breathing and shivering will slow and eventually stop.
—Karl Hille, Baltimore Sun, 15 Jan. 2026
Victims would have experienced intense shivering, numbness, and growing confusion before slipping into unconsciousness.
—Lucy Notarantonio, MSNBC Newsweek, 10 Nov. 2025
Richard Greenberg, Los Angeles Times, 6 Feb. 2026
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
Other common side effects include nausea, flushing, headache, and abdominal cramping and uncontrollable shivering.
—Cindy Krischer Goodman, Sun Sentinel, 5 Mar. 2026
Symptoms are fatigue, confusion, disorientation, excessive shivering and loss of coordination.
—Amanda McCoy, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 30 Jan. 2026
Once moderate hypothermia sets in, the opposite effect happens — heart rate, breathing and shivering will slow and eventually stop.
—Karl Hille, Baltimore Sun, 15 Jan. 2026
Victims would have experienced intense shivering, numbness, and growing confusion before slipping into unconsciousness.
—Lucy Notarantonio, MSNBC Newsweek, 10 Nov. 2025
Adjective
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
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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for shivering
Noun
-
At first this change of scale vivifies the butterfly—its brief stillness, the angle of its wings, its trembling—while freezing everything else, including the novel’s action.—
Ben Lerner,
The New York Review of Books,
19 Mar. 2026
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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
Verb
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The child had jumped at the sting, her bottom lip quivering.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
23 Mar. 2026
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The mesmerizing evolution reaches its peak when a quivering guitar solo jettisons into view.—
Nina Corcoran,
Pitchfork,
26 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Consider both carefully, then, before getting started, and explore the pros and cons of splitting your funds between both to best determine your next step.—
Matt Richardson,
CBS News,
24 Mar. 2026
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The map’s boundaries slice through Kansas City, splitting the city’s voters into three Republican-leaning districts in the hopes of pushing Cleaver out of office.—
Kacen Bayless,
Kansas City Star,
24 Mar. 2026
Noun
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Earthquakes' sudden, rapid shaking can cause fires, tsunamis, landslides or avalanches.—
CA Earthquake Bot,
Sacbee.com,
29 Mar. 2026
Verb
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That all came to a shuddering halt after Khashoggi’s death.—
Isaac Chotiner,
New Yorker,
17 Feb. 2026
-
Sat shuddering in my seat as the lights drew down.—
Sally Jenkins,
The Atlantic,
15 Feb. 2026
Verb
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The vigilantes in Guajes de Ayala join a volatile landscape of warring armed groups – from cartels with tentacles across Latin America to local mafias – in regions like Guerrero ravaged by splintering cartels for decades.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
20 Mar. 2026
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The vigilantes in Guajes de Ayala join a volatile landscape of warring armed groups — from cartels with tentacles across Latin America to local mafias — in regions like Guerrero ravaged by splintering cartels for decades.—
Megan Janetsky,
Los Angeles Times,
20 Mar. 2026
Noun
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During this phase, octopuses display visible twitching along with rapid changes in skin color and texture, per NPR.—
Samantha Agate,
Miami Herald,
27 Mar. 2026
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Gosnell did not testify at his 2013 trial, but his defense attorney argued that none of the fetuses were born alive and that any movements were posthumous twitching or spasms, according to the AP.—
Greg Norman-Diamond,
FOXNews.com,
24 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Alex arrives to find Lucy literally quaking in fear, especially when Stephen summons the two of them to come meet his latest prey, whose name is Tegan.—
Kathleen Walsh,
Vulture,
3 Feb. 2026
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For those communities quaking in terror, simply waiting three years for a new president is not sufficient.—
Jonathan Chait,
The Atlantic,
22 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Shivering.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/shivering. Accessed 1 Apr. 2026.
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