tremble
verb (used without object)
to shake involuntarily with quick, short movements, as from fear, excitement, weakness, or cold; quake; quiver.
trembled
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past participleof tremble.past participle
A verb form used in perfect and passive verb constructions and that can also function as a modifier.
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past tense formof tremble.past tense
Used to describe completed actions or previous habitual actions.
trembleverb (used without object)to shake involuntarily with quick, short movements, as from fear, excitement, weakness, or cold; quake; quiver.
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.
“Whoa! We are having an earthquake. Our whole studio just shook. That was pretty big, I can tell you. The desk shook, the lights shook,” one anchor said, as an overhead light trembled slightly.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 13, 2026
There is something almost absurd about attempting to appraise “Gilgamesh,” as though one were asked to appraise wind, or love, or that first human thought that trembled toward language.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 24, 2026
"It shook the whole building, the windows... it all trembled so much," the man said, adding that people several kilometres away had felt the impact.
From BBC ● Nov. 17, 2025
As the country’s fourth-largest investment bank, Lehman Brothers, collapsed and its fifth-largest, Bear Sterns, was liquidated in a “fire sale,” the financial system trembled at the brink of collapse.
From Salon ● Jul. 30, 2025
From her jail room window, Roz watched as the ocean trembled with each blast.
From "The Wild Robot Protects" by Peter Brown
