Library / English Dictionary

TREMBLE

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 I. (noun) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

A reflex motion caused by cold or fear or excitement

Synonyms:

shake; shiver; tremble

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Hypernyms ("tremble" is a kind of...):

inborn reflex; innate reflex; instinctive reflex; physiological reaction; reflex; reflex action; reflex response; unconditioned reflex (an automatic instinctive unlearned reaction to a stimulus)

Derivation:

tremble (move or jerk quickly and involuntarily up and down or sideways)

 II. (verb) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Move or jerk quickly and involuntarily up and down or sideways

Example:

His hands were trembling when he signed the document

Classified under:

Verbs of walking, flying, swimming

Hypernyms (to "tremble" is one way to...):

agitate; shake (move or cause to move back and forth)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "tremble"):

shiver; shudder; thrill; throb (tremble convulsively, as from fear or excitement)

palpitate; quake; quiver (shake with fast, tremulous movements)

Sentence frame:

Something ----s

Sentence examples:

The crowds tremble in the streets

The streets tremble with crowds

Derivation:

tremble (a reflex motion caused by cold or fear or excitement)

trembler (one who quakes and trembles with (or as with) fear)

trembling (a shaky motion)

Credits

 Context examples: 

I supported myself in the companion-way, weak and trembling, while the observation was being verified by the remarks of the rest of the men.

(The Sea-Wolf, by Jack London)

I remember nothing until I found myself lying on my bed trembling all over.

(The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

He sank his face in his hands, and trembled all over.

(The Return of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

White Fang trembled with fear, and though the impulse came to crawl out of his hiding-place, he resisted it.

(White Fang, by Jack London)

Mrs. Hudson was waiting, trembling and weeping, in the passage.

(His Last Bow, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

But you are ill; even now you tremble; you are unfit for agitation of any kind.

(Frankenstein, by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley)

Lord bless you! how you did tremble when Sir Thomas first had you put on!

(Mansfield Park, by Jane Austen)

But Lanyon’s face changed, and he held up a trembling hand.

(The Strange Case Of Dr. Jekyll And Mr. Hyde, by Robert Louis Stevenson)

Now she could hear more; and she trembled in expectation of it.

(Sense and Sensibility, by Jane Austen)

Elizabeth hesitated, but her knees trembled under her and she felt how little would be gained by her attempting to pursue them.

(Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen)