quivering

American  

[kwiv-uh-ring] / ˈkwɪv ə rɪŋ /

adjective

1. trembling or shaking with a slight, rapid motion, or seeming to tremble or shake.

   The sun climbed higher and movement ceased: over the whole summit, figures lay still in the quivering heat.

   Forty hertz is really fast, like the quivering light from a faulty fluorescent bulb.

---

noun

1. an act or instance of shaking with a slight but rapid motion.

   The quivering in the heart upsets the normal rhythm between the atria and the lower parts of the heart, the ventricles.

Other Word Forms

• quiveringly adverb
• unquivering adjective

Etymology

Origin of quivering

First recorded in 1530–40; quiver ¹ ( def. ) + -ing ² ( def. ) for the adjective; quiver ¹ ( def. ) + -ing ¹ ( def. ) for the noun

Example Sentences

Be fretful, be anxious, be a quivering wreck about what might be in America, but keep perspective, too.

From BBC

His voice was gruff, despite his quivering knees.

From Literature

A companion next to her fought back tears, her chin quivering.

From Los Angeles Times

An elderly retired missionary was brought in, jaw quivering with fear.

From Literature

You could tell from here her little chin was quivering.

From Literature

Related Words

• shaking
• shivering
• trembling