pulsate

[ puhl-seyt ]

See synonyms for pulsate on Thesaurus.com

verb (used without object),pul·sat·ed, pul·sat·ing.

to expand and contract rhythmically, as the heart; beat; throb.
to vibrate; quiver.

Origin of pulsate

1785–95; <Latin pulsātus, past participle of pulsāre to batter, strike, make (strings) vibrate. See pulse¹, -ate¹

synonym study For pulsate

1. 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 words for pulsate

pulse

See synonyms for pulsate on Thesaurus.com

Other words from pulsate

non·pul·sat·ing, adjective
un·pul·sat·ing, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use pulsate in a sentence

Exhausted from the chronic pain that pulsates through her body day and night, she chokes up on the phone.
New Jersey Patients in Pain Over Scarcity of Medical Marijuana | Abby Haglage | February 7, 2013 | THE DAILY BEAST
From that spot, the canvas pulsates before your eyes, like a fabric reaching out to muffle you—like a primordial soup, bubbling.
Carsten Nicolai’s Skydiving Dance | Jimmy So | September 24, 2011 | THE DAILY BEAST
The Ocean breathes and pulsates, even as you and I do; it compels me to calculate my days and hours, and to look up to Heaven.
The Sea | Jules Michelet
But the memory of my owlets hardens my motherly heart; it pulsates with tremendous force; their loss is the world's loss.
Harper's Young People, April 19, 1881 | Various
He too is descended from a brave and royal race—the blood of kings pulsates in his veins.
The Eve of All-Hallows, v. 2 of 3 | Matthew Weld Hartstonge

From shore to shore of the continent a chorus more seductive than sirens' songs pulsates on the breezes.
North America | Israel C. Russell
Soon a thrush or a warbler awakens in full song, and is followed by a host of other voices, until the air pulsates with music.
North America | Israel C. Russell

British Dictionary definitions for pulsate

pulsate

/ (pʌlˈseɪt) /

verb(intr)

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

Origin of pulsate

C18: from Latin pulsāre to push

Derived forms of pulsate

pulsative (ˈpʌlsətɪv), adjective
pulsatively, adverb

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

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