Library / English Dictionary

VIBRATE

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 I. (verb) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Feel sudden intense sensation or emotion

Example:

he was thrilled by the speed and the roar of the engine

Synonyms:

thrill; tickle; vibrate

Classified under:

Verbs of feeling

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

excite; shake; shake up; stimulate; stir (stir the feelings, emotions, or peace of)

Sentence frame:

Something ----s somebody

Sense 2

Meaning:

Move or swing from side to side regularly

Example:

the needle on the meter was oscillating

Synonyms:

oscillate; vibrate

Classified under:

Verbs of walking, flying, swimming

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

sway; swing (move or walk in a swinging or swaying manner)

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

hunt (oscillate about a desired speed, position, or state to an undesirable extent)

librate (vibrate before coming to a total rest)

Sentence frames:

Something ----s
Something is ----ing PP

Derivation:

vibration (the act of vibrating)

vibration ((physics) a regular periodic variation in value about a mean)

vibrator (a mechanical device that vibrates)

Sense 3

Meaning:

Shake, quiver, or throb; move back and forth rapidly, usually in an uncontrolled manner

Classified under:

Verbs of walking, flying, swimming

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

move (move so as to change position, perform a nontranslational motion)

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

shimmy; wobble (tremble or shake)

judder; shake (shake or vibrate rapidly and intensively)

Sentence frames:

Something ----s
Somebody ----s something
Something ----s something

Derivation:

vibration (a shaky motion)

vibrator (mechanical device that produces vibratory motion; used for massage)

Sense 4

Meaning:

Sound with resonance

Example:

The sound resonates well in this theater

Synonyms:

resonate; vibrate

Classified under:

Verbs of seeing, hearing, feeling

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

go; sound (make a certain noise or sound)

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

make vibrant sounds; purr (indicate pleasure by purring; characteristic of cats)

Sentence frames:

Something ----s
Something ----s something

Derivation:

vibrancy (having the character of a loud deep sound; the quality of being resonant)

vibrant (of sounds that are strong and resonating)

vibratory (moving very rapidly to and fro or up and down)

Sense 5

Meaning:

Be undecided about something; waver between conflicting positions or courses of action

Example:

He oscillates between accepting the new position and retirement

Synonyms:

hover; oscillate; vacillate; vibrate

Classified under:

Verbs of being, having, spatial relations

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

hesitate; waffle; waver (pause or hold back in uncertainty or unwillingness)

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

shillyshally (be uncertain and vague)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s

Credits

 Context examples: 

The interior of Saturn vibrates at frequencies that cause variations in its gravitational field.

(Scientists Finally Know What Time It Is on Saturn, NASA)

In the ensuing interval, I told Miss Mills that she was evermore my friend, and that my heart must cease to vibrate ere I could forget her sympathy.

(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)

It vibrates in response to sound, exciting the hair cells and supports the organ of Corti.

(Basilar Membrane of the Membranous Canal of the Cochlea, NCI Thesaurus)

Strength balanced sensuousness and had upon it a tonic effect, compelling him to love beauty that was healthy and making him vibrate to sensations that were wholesome.

(Martin Eden, by Jack London)

Then came the hours of suspense, during which she vibrated from parlor to porch, while public opinion varied like the weathercock.

(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)

For example, Moore's team found that a helicopter flying close to an arch in Utah's Bryce Canyon caused the arch to vibrate with an amplitude one hundred times greater than normal.

(Song of the red rock arches, National Science Foundation)

The Professor's voice, as he spoke in clear, sweet tones, which seemed to vibrate in the air, calmed us all:—Oh, my friend, it is because I would save Madam Mina from that awful place that I would go.

(Dracula, by Bram Stoker)

And in accord with jerks and spasms the larynx began to vibrate, at first silently, accompanied by the rush of air expelled from the lungs, then sounding a low, deep note, the lowest in the register of the human ear.

(Love of Life and Other Stories, by Jack London)

A spectrometric method that determines the type and concentration of elements or chemicals in a sample, based upon the principle that the atoms in a sample will vibrate or rotate at a specific frequency when exposed to infrared light.

(Infrared Spectrometry, NCI Thesaurus)

He had begun to romp with them in a feeble, awkward way, and even to squabble, his little throat vibrating with a queer rasping noise (the forerunner of the growl), as he worked himself into a passion.

(White Fang, by Jack London)