palpitate
verb (used without object)
to pulsate with unusual rapidity from exertion, emotion, disease, etc.; flutter.
were palpitating
-
past progressiveof palpitate.past progressive
Used to describe an ongoing action or continuous state that was happening at a specific time in the past.
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.
While Italian wings were palpitating in far Brazil, Pilots Johann Risticz and Hans Zimmermann of the German Junkers Works, quietly took the duration record away from Ferrarin and Delprete, from rhetoric-loving Italia.
From Time Magazine Archive
The pupil was just finishing his lesson, and some rather extraordinary sounds were palpitating among the arches and pillars of the old Minster.
From A Popular Schoolgirl by Balliol Salmon
While both were palpitating with fright, the handle of the door was tried, and a voice announced that the apprentice was without.
From Old Saint Paul's A Tale of the Plague and the Fire by William Harrison Ainsworth
Now the brownish-gray steppes coming out from the fleecy fog of daybreak were palpitating with new life.
From Mare Nostrum (Our Sea) A Novel by Charlotte Brewster Jordan
The streets were palpitating with burghers ready to proceed to the frontier that night, and with refugees speeding to the stations.
From My Reminiscences of the Anglo-Boer War by P. Van Breda
