quiver

[kwiv-er]

See more synonyms for quiver on Thesaurus.com

verb (used with or without object)

to shake with a slight but rapid motion; vibrate tremulously; tremble.

noun

the act or state of quivering; a tremble or tremor.

Origin of quiver

1480–90; origin uncertain; compare Middle Dutch quiveren to tremble

Related formsquiv·er·er, nounquiv·er·ing·ly, adverbquiv·er·y, adjectiveun·quiv·ered, adjectiveun·quiv·er·ing, adjective

Synonyms for quiver

See more synonyms for on Thesaurus.com

1. quake, shudder, shiver. See shake. 2. shudder, shiver, shake.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for quivering

shaking, shivering, trembling, quavering, jittery, jumpy, shaky, tremulous

Examples from the Web for quivering

Contemporary Examples of quivering

The soft cry from her quivering lips meets the rhythmic beat of our rattles: the battle cry of her living nightmare.
Hallucinating Away a Heroin Addiction
Abby Haglage
May 4, 2014
Ten feet away, Sher scrunched into a quivering ball and began to cry.
Death on Killer Mountain
Amanda Padoan
July 6, 2013
The woman who took no nonsense from a cabinet of quivering, jelly-kneed men, some of whom loved her, some of whom loathed her.
How Margaret Thatcher Transformed British Politics
Tunku Varadarajan
April 8, 2013
But most of our quivering outrage is directed not at those who were clearly dishonest, but those who offend our sensibilities.
Our Insincere, Pointless Cult of Apology
Michael Moynihan
February 28, 2013
It may seem a small detail, given the heat of the moment—but so is a quivering lip.
Sam Harris On the Freedom to Offend an Imaginary God
Sam Harris
September 19, 2012

Historical Examples of quivering

So he just sat there, quivering, bleeding, battered—but a conqueror.
A Night Out
Edward Peple
In her eagerness, it was as if the halo of joy that surrounded her were quivering.
The Bacillus of Beauty
Harriet Stark
"You don't mean that," she gasped in a quivering voice when at last she could speak.
Her Father's Daughter
Gene Stratton-Porter
“He was that indeed,” she whispered softly, with quivering lips.
The Secret Agent
Joseph Conrad
Evelyn spoke quickly and nervously, and with quivering lips.
Alice, or The Mysteries, Complete
Edward Bulwer-Lytton

British Dictionary definitions for quivering

quiver

verb

(intr) to shake with a rapid tremulous movement; tremble

noun

the state, process, or noise of shaking or trembling

Derived Formsquiverer, nounquivering, adjectivequiveringly, adverbquivery, adjective

Word Origin for quiver

C15: from obsolete cwiver quick, nimble; compare quaver

quiver

noun

a case for arrows

Word Origin for quiver

C13: from Old French cuivre; related to Old English cocer, Old Saxon kokari, Old High German kohhari, Medieval Latin cucurum

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

Word Origin and History for quivering

quiver

"to tremble," late 15c., perhaps imitative, or possibly an alteration of quaveren (see quaver), or from Old English cwifer- (in cwiferlice "zealously"), which is perhaps related to cwic "alive" (see quick). Related: Quivered; quivering. As a noun in this sense from 1715, from the verb.

quiver

"case for holding arrows," early 14c., from Anglo-French quiveir, Old French quivre, cuivre, probably of Germanic origin, from Proto-Germanic *kukur "container" (cf. Old High German kohhari, German Köcher, Old Saxon kokar, Old Frisian koker, Old English cocur "quiver"); "said to be from the language of the Huns" [Barnhart]. Related: Quiverful.