tremble

[trem-buhl]

verb (used without object), trem·bled, trem·bling.

to shake involuntarily with quick, short movements, as from fear, excitement, weakness, or cold; quake; quiver.

to be troubled with fear or apprehension.

(of things) to be affected with vibratory motion.

to be tremulous, as light or sound: His voice trembled.

noun

the act of trembling.

a state or fit of trembling.

trembles, (used with a singular verb)

Pathology.milk sickness.
Veterinary Pathology.a toxic condition of cattle and sheep caused by the eating of white snakeroot and characterized by muscular tremors.

Origin of tremble

1275–1325; Middle English trem(b)len (v.) < Old French trembler < Vulgar Latin *tremulāre, derivative of Latin tremulus tremulous

Related formstrem·bling·ly, adverbun·trem·bling, adjectiveun·trem·bling·ly, adverb

Synonyms for tremble

1. shudder. See shake. 3. oscillate.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for trembles

quiver, throb, wobble, shudder, shiver, flutter, totter, palpitate, teeter, jar, quake, rock, tremor, quaver, oscillate, jitter

Examples from the Web for trembles

Contemporary Examples of trembles

She looks sideways as the monster speaker booms and trembles and young men dance toward her.
Liberia’s Child Prostitutes
Clair MacDougall
May 19, 2014
Curled into a fetal position on an outdoor, candle-lit matt in Costa Rica, the 18-year-old trembles in fear.
Hallucinating Away a Heroin Addiction
Abby Haglage
May 4, 2014
Dench trembles whilst uttering the words, “out damned spots!”
Shakespeare’s Movie Magic
Marina Watts, Malcolm Jones
April 24, 2014

Historical Examples of trembles

I guess the trembles in my head must have got into my fingers when I did it.
Kent Knowles: Quahaug
Joseph C. Lincoln
It is when the soul rises to "here and now" that he trembles.
Parables of the Cross
I. Lilias Trotter
See how she trembles, and you know, Claude, what we heard on Sunday at the catechising.
Golden Moments
Anonymous
He trembles at the responsibility which he has incurred by engaging the feelings of another.
The Young Duke
Benjamin Disraeli
When I go near the rubbish with my duster he trembles like an aspen.
White Lies
Charles Reade

British Dictionary definitions for trembles

trembles

noun (functioning as singular)

Also called: milk sickness a disease of cattle and sheep characterized by muscular incoordination and tremor, caused by ingestion of white snakeroot or rayless goldenrod

a nontechnical name for Parkinson's disease

tremble

verb (intr)

to vibrate with short slight movements; quiver

to shake involuntarily, as with cold or fear; shiver

to experience fear or anxiety

noun

the act or an instance of trembling

Derived Formstrembling, adjectivetremblingly, adverbtrembly, adjective

Word Origin for tremble

C14: from Old French trembler, from Medieval Latin tremulāre, from Latin tremulus quivering, from tremere to quake

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 trembles

tremble

c.1300, "shake from fear, cold, etc.," from Old French trembler "tremble, fear" (11c.), from Vulgar Latin *tremulare (source of Italian tremolare, Spanish temblar), from Latin tremulus "trembling, tremulous," from tremere "to tremble, shiver, quake," from PIE *trem- "to tremble" (cf. Greek tremein "to shiver, tremble," Lithuanian trimu "to chase away," Old Church Slavonic treso "to shake," Gothic þramstei "grasshopper"). A native word for this was Old English bifian. Related: Trembled; trembling. The noun is recorded from c.1600.