Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- adjective Marked by trembling, quivering, or shaking.
- adjective Marked by a rapid varying between pitches or tones.
- adjective Timid or fearful.
from The Century Dictionary.
- Trembling; shaking; quivering; vibrating; unsteady.
- Lacking firmness, resolution, or courage; feeble; wavering; timid.
- In entomology, finely wavy: as, a tremulous line.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- adjective Shaking; shivering; quivering.
- adjective Affected with fear or timidity; trembling.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- adjective
Trembling ,quivering , orshaking . - adjective
Timid ,hesitant , orunconfident .
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- adjective (of the voice) quivering as from weakness or fear
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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Pool clapped his hands, and the little maid ran out of the house to him in tremulous, fluttery haste.
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Pool clapped his hands, and the little maid ran out of the house to him in tremulous, fluttery haste.
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In the first gush of our sorrow and our indignation because of this atrocity, we waited not for any official prompting to pour forth our grief in tremulous, glowing words of mingled emotion, as the irrepressible bidding of our hearts draped our homes and our sanctuaries in the weeds of a national funeral.
A Discourse in Memory of our Late President, Abraham Lincoln 1865
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He spoke – but no soft voice in tremulous whispers, replied.
The Old Manor House 1793
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I recalled the tremulous hand that he had offered me.
The Eye of Osiris 1902
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Greatly daring, he had himself written to Veranilda; in brief terms, but every word tremulous with his passion.
Veranilda George Gissing 1880
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She lowered her eyelids, and the deeper breathing of her bosom gave to her voice when she did speak a tremulous tone: --
The Lesser Bourgeoisie Honor�� de Balzac 1824
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But, just a suggestion, I wouldn't use "tremulous" that early in a book, the people picking the book up at the store that are glancing at the first few paragraphs to see if they like the writing may put it down because they may think it's over their heads.
HH Com 298 Miss Snark 2006
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As the teacher read on, her color changed, and a kind of tremulous agitation came over her.
The Atlantic Monthly, Volume 05, No. 29, March, 1860 Various
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Sauvages, by this just distinction, actually separates this kind of tremulous motion, and which is the kind peculiar to this disease, from the Genus Tremor.
An Essay on the Shaking Palsy James Parkinson
kringlan commented on the word tremulous
Quite interesting is that the aspen tree with its forever trembling leaves, has as its latin name Populus tremula.
July 8, 2008