tremulous

[trem-yuh-luhs]

adjective

1. (of persons, the body, etc.) characterized by trembling, as from fear, nervousness, or weakness.

   Synonyms: hesitant

2. timid; timorous; fearful.

   Synonyms: afraid, frightened

3. (of things) vibratory, shaking, or quivering.

4. (of writing) done with a trembling hand.

tremulous

/ ˈtrɛmjʊləs /

adjective

1. vibrating slightly; quavering; trembling

   a tremulous voice

2. showing or characterized by fear, anxiety, excitement, etc

Other Word Forms

• tremulously adverb
• tremulousness noun
• untremulous adjective
• untremulously adverb
• untremulousness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of tremulous¹

1605–15; < Latin tremulus, equivalent to trem ( ere ) to tremble + -ulus adj. suffix

Word History and Origins

Origin of tremulous¹

C17: from Latin tremulus quivering, from tremere to shake

Example Sentences

Fife's Jacob Alon is possessed of an otherworldly voice – simultaneously angelic and tremulous with vulnerability.

Read more on BBC

Odell's voice, which tends towards the tremulous, thrums with emotional resonance, gently underscored by brushed drums and swelling strings.

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The independent presidential candidate recounts those times somewhat wistfully, telling interviewers that he “can’t stand” the sound of his voice today — sometimes choked, halting and slightly tremulous.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Yet Lou also remains super-jumpy and wary, like someone permanently looking over her shoulder, and Stewart gives the character a tremulous energy that vibrates in her every look, gesture and head bob.

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But there’s a disturbing intimacy to the film as well, with Cillian Murphy’s tremulous J. Robert Oppenheimer leading an unstable band of scientists while nearly drowning in uncharted political and ethical waters.

Read more on New York Times