librate
Americanverb (used without object)
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to oscillate or move from side to side or between two points.
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to remain poised or balanced.
verb
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to oscillate or waver
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to hover or be balanced
Other Word Forms
- libratory adjective
Etymology
Origin of librate
First recorded in 1615–25; from Latin lībrātus, past participle of lībrāre “to balance, make level, bring to equilibrium”; Libra, -ate 1
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The irritative motions that belong to the sense of pressure, or of touch, are attended to, and the patient conceives the bed to librate, and is fearful of falling out of it.
From Zoonomia, Vol. I Or, the Laws of Organic Life by Darwin, Erasmus
The child then drops upon the ground, and the neighbouring objects seem to continue for some seconds of time to circulate around him, and the earth under him appears to librate like a balance.
From Zoonomia, Vol. I Or, the Laws of Organic Life by Darwin, Erasmus
In a general way a cable keeps a ship anchored in the same place, although wind and waves may cause it to "librate" about the anchor.
From A Text-Book of Astronomy by Comstock, George C.
He proceeded to see if by making the planet librate, or the plane of its orbit tilt up and down, anything could be done.
From Pioneers of Science by Lodge, Oliver, Sir
Cause of librations.—That the moon should librate is by no means so remarkable a fact as that it should at all times turn very nearly the same face toward the earth.
From A Text-Book of Astronomy by Comstock, George C.
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
