as in shaking
marked by or given to small uncontrollable bodily movements
trembling from the cold
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in twitching
a series of slight movements by a body back and forth or from side to side
at the first sign of the room's trembling, I ducked for cover, for I was certain that it was the start of the big quake
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 trembling
Rodney Muhumuza, Los Angeles Times, 10 Apr. 2026
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
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
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
Lost in the trembling of my own body, trembling like Bunny’s body.
—Literary Hub, 24 Sep. 2025
Olsen plays Joan’s indecision with winsome fluster, at first breathy and trembling but eventually finding her resolve.
—Richard Lawson, HollywoodReporter, 8 Sep. 2025
Still, the cluster exhibited a subtle trembling motion while it was held in place.
—Chris Young, Interesting Engineering, 6 Aug. 2025
Noun
All the trembling, as Kimbangu touched the sick, alarmed European settlers and reassured the plantation workers who trekked to Nkamba in search of healing.
—Rodney Muhumuza, Los Angeles Times, 10 Apr. 2026
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
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
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
Lost in the trembling of my own body, trembling like Bunny’s body.
—Literary Hub, 24 Sep. 2025
Olsen plays Joan’s indecision with winsome fluster, at first breathy and trembling but eventually finding her resolve.
—Richard Lawson, HollywoodReporter, 8 Sep. 2025
Still, the cluster exhibited a subtle trembling motion while it was held in place.
—Chris Young, Interesting Engineering, 6 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for trembling
Noun
-
Earthquakes' sudden, rapid shaking can cause fires, tsunamis, landslides or avalanches.—
CA Earthquake Bot,
Sacbee.com,
16 May 2026
-
The team also found that certain near-surface features, such as softer rock layers above where the stopping phase happens, can further enhance it, leading to more severe shaking of the ground at the surface.—
Jacek Krywko,
Scientific American,
23 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Maggie could see how the soles of her feet strained against the stirrups, her pale fists grinding into the platform, knuckles first and elbows quivering.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
8 May 2026
-
In the 1970s, James Lovelock proposed that the biosphere was not just green scruff quivering on Earth's surface.—
Big Think,
Big Think,
23 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
That week’s host, Emily Blunt, did the trembly voice-over.—
Michael Schulman,
The New Yorker,
21 Dec. 2020
Noun
-
Casting near banks and using a twitching technique can increase success during the hatch.—
Dac Collins,
Outdoor Life,
14 May 2026
-
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
Noun
-
Other things flying up include flexible repair patches for sealing the space station’s hull, a replacement ultrasonic inspection tool, spare units for the station’s vibration monitoring system and parts to improve water processing and oxygen generation.—
Richard Tribou,
The Orlando Sentinel,
12 May 2026
-
Early on Monday evening, Iris van Herpen could already feel the vibration in the room.—
Kristen Tauer,
Footwear News,
12 May 2026
Adjective
-
Carlos Rodon will take the hill today and look to improve on his shaky first outing.—
David Troy,
FOXNews.com,
16 May 2026
-
Marleen Gorris tried with her shaky 1997 film starring Vanessa Redgrave as the titular protagonist and Rupert Graves as the tragic Septimus.—
Lovia Gyarkye,
HollywoodReporter,
16 May 2026
Noun
-
Unlike shivering, which produces heat through rapid muscle contractions, thermogenic leak relies on the mitochondria in muscle cells to release heat instead of producing ATP for contractions.—
Encyclopedia Britannica,
Encyclopedia Britannica,
8 Apr. 2026
-
Other common side effects include nausea, flushing, headache, and abdominal cramping and uncontrollable shivering.—
Cindy Krischer Goodman,
Sun Sentinel,
5 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
The director again shows his action smarts by creating a brief lull — albeit while leaning hard on one of the more sudsy passages of composer Fernando Velázquez’s generic score — before the next shuddering impact sends the number of casualties skyrocketing.—
David Rooney,
HollywoodReporter,
28 Apr. 2026
-
Fellow clubgoers splashed cold water on his face in an attempt to stop the shuddering.—
Lynsey Eidell,
PEOPLE,
31 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Trembling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/trembling. Accessed 17 May. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
