tremble

[trem-buhl]

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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

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR tremble ON THESAURUS.COM

1. shudder. See shake. 3. oscillate.

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

Related Words for trembling

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

Examples from the Web for trembling

Contemporary Examples of trembling

I mean literally find him, still there, an eleven-year-old boy, cold and trembling, with nowhere else to run.
Charles D’Ambrosio’s X-Ray Vision Is On Full Display In His New Essay Collection.
Steve Almond
November 14, 2014
At first it was raucous, trembling with patriotism, a sea of seething yellow.
Germany Humiliates World Cup Host Brazil 7-1 in Semifinal Slaughter
Tunku Varadarajan
July 8, 2014
Neither Paul nor Kierkegaard were kidding when they wrote of fear and trembling.
How Losing My Daughter Changed My Faith
Kyle Cupp
June 15, 2014
Forty-nine-year-old Elena brings a trembling hand to the bridge of her nose and makes a slashing movement across it.
'In Cold Blood' in Ukraine
Jamie Dettmer
May 3, 2014
But his voice is rising and trembling, and seconds later, he begins to sob.
River Phoenix’s Fatal Halloween, 20 Years On
Andrew Romano
October 31, 2013

Historical Examples of trembling

I received the deputation with a trembling and apprehensive heart.
Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, No. 327
Various
Pale and trembling, I pointed to the horrible staircase by which we had come.
The Roof of France
Matilda Betham-Edwards
When she held her in her arms pressed against her breast, she felt that she was trembling.
The Dream
Emile Zola
Monseigneur shook from trembling as he repeated severely the word, "Never!"
The Dream
Emile Zola
When she turned back to the fireplace her hands were trembling.
Her Father's Daughter
Gene Stratton-Porter

British Dictionary definitions for trembling

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 trembling

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.