pulsate
Americanverb (used without object)
-
to expand and contract rhythmically, as the heart; beat; throb.
- Synonyms:
- pulse
-
to vibrate; quiver.
verb
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to expand and contract with a rhythmic beat; throb
-
physics to vary in intensity, magnitude, size, etc
the current was pulsating
-
to quiver or vibrate
Related Words
Pulsate, beat, palpitate, throb refer to the recurrent vibratory movement of the heart, the pulse, etc. To pulsate is to move in a definite rhythm, temporarily or for a longer duration: Blood pulsates in the arteries. To beat is to repeat a vibration or pulsation regularly for some time: One's heart beats many times a minute. To palpitate is to beat at a rapid rate, often producing a flutter: to palpitate with excitement. To throb is to beat with an unusual force that is often associated with pain or heightened emotion or sensation: to throb with terror.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of pulsate
1785–95; < Latin pulsātus, past participle of pulsāre to batter, strike, make (strings) vibrate. See pulse 1, -ate 1
Explanation
Things that pulsate throb with a regular, rhythmic beat — like the piped-in music at a trendy discotheque. Music can pulsate, electromagnetic waves can pulsate, and your head can pulsate when you have a splitting headache. When someone takes your pulse by placing fingers on the inside of your wrist or on your neck, they're counting your heartbeats by feeling the blood pulsate through your arteries.
Vocabulary lists containing pulsate
Dear Martin
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Unit 1: Telling Details
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"An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge" by Ambrose Bierce
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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.
Stars like cepheids, which pulsate, getting bigger and smaller, brighter and dimmer.
From Scientific American • Jun. 22, 2023
The director allows her protagonist’s pain to protract and pulsate without narrative fuss; even scenes of turmoil unspool with a deliberate delicacy.
From New York Times • Mar. 23, 2023
The flute solo made the hall pulsate with a full life of its own.
From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 13, 2023
Come 8 September, Paris will pulsate to the prospect of hosts France taking on three-time champions New Zealand in the tournament's opening match.
From BBC • Nov. 4, 2022
In its death throes, the Sun will slowly pulsate, expanding and contracting once every few millennia, eventually spewing its atmosphere into space in one or more concentric shells of gas.
From "Cosmos" by Carl Sagan
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.
