QUIVERING Synonyms: 73 Similar and Opposite Words

quivering 1 of 3

adjective

as in trembling

marked by or given to small uncontrollable bodily movements our quivering dog tried to hide under the bed during the thunderstorm

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

quivering

2 of 3

noun

as in twitching

a series of slight movements by a body back and forth or from side to side the kids were fascinated by the quivering of the jellyfish and kept poking it to see it wiggle

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quivering

3 of 3

verb

present participle of quiver

as in shaking

to make a series of small irregular or violent movements aspen leaves quivering in the breeze

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of quivering

Noun

A-fib is a quivering or irregular heartbeat that is a worrisome stage-setter for blood clots, stroke and heart failure. — Maria Sherman, Chicago Tribune, 23 Sep. 2026 The horror has come now like a storm— what if this night prefigured the night after death— what if all thereafter was an eternal quivering on the edge of an abyss, with everything base and vicious in oneself urging one forward and the baseness and viciousness of the world just ahead. — Literary Hub, 3 Mar. 2026 The old dog slowed to a stop, nose full of bird stink, feathery tail quivering. — Joel M. Vance, Outdoor Life, 29 Oct. 2025

Verb

And as Ternus thumbs through the $1,999-and-up phone, attempting to drag a photo into a text-message box, eagle-eyed viewers notice his hands quivering. — Andrew R. Chow, Time, 15 Oct. 2026 Ishibashi makes for a resilient and empathetic Junna, even as her character inevitably bears the brunt of much of the film’s divisive moralizing, while Emoto’s Morio is a quivering wreck of fragility and good intentions. — Guy Lodge, Variety, 11 Oct. 2026 But each of its eight-and-a-half minutes introduces a subtle mutation, rotating buzzing electronics and quivering guitars into the spotlight. — Arman Khan, Pitchfork, 4 Aug. 2026 Located on the street level of the Harbor Boulevard complex, the new shop gives dessert-loving denizens another place to pick up the quivering treat. — Brock Keeling, Oc Register, 26 May 2026 Johnston plays poor Bear as a quivering mess wracked with guilt that this monster — who used to be his friend — is the result of his own terrible decision-making. — Katie Walsh, Twin Cities, 23 May 2026 Maggie could see how the soles of her feet strained against the stirrups, her pale fists grinding into the platform, knuckles first and elbows quivering. — Literary Hub, 8 May 2026 In the 1970s, James Lovelock proposed that the biosphere was not just green scruff quivering on Earth's surface. — Big Think, 23 Apr. 2026 Few things shake the confidence of a person like crawling to the top bunk of a quivering bed frame, your feet wrapping uncomfortably along the frail metal rungs of the ladder. — Julia Harrison, Architectural Digest, 27 Jan. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for quivering

Adjective

Standing 10 yards in front of us on a corner of Wilshire Boulevard and Fairfax Avenue was a shivering elderly woman who looked lost.

— Richard Greenberg, Los Angeles Times, 6 Feb. 2026
What she’s produced is a searching, pointedly disorienting text, studded with passages of extreme beauty and generous humor, that wears whimsy like a shivering veil over consuming discomfort, even terror.

— Paul McAdory, Vulture, 22 Sep. 2025

Definition of shivering

Verb

There’s seat-shaking violence in how the whale breaches the surface and slams its weight back down (the crafty sound design is by James Miller) and body horror in its claustrophobic, spongy inner chambers.

— Amy Nicholson, Los Angeles Times, 15 Oct. 2026
Just below the broad smile he’s been wearing all morning, John Ternus’ hands are shaking.

— Andrew R. Chow, Time, 15 Oct. 2026

Definition of shaking

Adjective

Stocks are near all-time highs, but the bond market looks much shakier and consumer confidence is decidedly sour even if people do keep spending.

— Evan Clark, Footwear News, 14 Oct. 2026
On offense, the Rays' lineup got to Messick in the fourth thanks to some shaky Cleveland defense.

— Ian Miller OutKick, FOXNews.com, 14 Oct. 2026

Definition of shaky

Verb

There’s the studio version, which has some really interesting production, with Meg’s shuddering percussion that eventually grates and distracts, and Jack’s very chunky guitar.

— Rebecca Alter, Vulture, 25 Aug. 2026
These seemingly innocuous incidents attain new significance as they’re revisited alongside a slow crescendo that suddenly turns to shuddering piano chords on the track’s bridge.

— Nick Ayres DeMasi, Pitchfork, 1 July 2026

Definition of shuddering

Noun

These devices are important components of optical atomic clocks, which use the vibrations of atoms at optical frequencies to measure time.

— Neetika Walter, Interesting Engineering, 17 Oct. 2026
Bushings are components that help reduce vibration, according to WSB.

— Isa Mudannayake, CNN Money, 17 Oct. 2026

Definition of vibration

Verb

And like any great sitcom, Friends runs the gamut from numbing brain-rot to tear-jerking sentimentality.

— Mack DeGeurin, Popular Science, 9 Sep. 2026
Even after a bailiff woke him up, Martin slumped over in his wheelchair, inside a courtroom bullpen, occasionally jerking and opening his eyes.

— Nate Gartrell, Mercury News, 8 Sep. 2026

Definition of jerking

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“Quivering.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/quivering. Accessed 20 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of quivering

adjective

noun

verb

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