tremulous

8 synonyms and 1 antonym for tremulous, grouped by meaning and by how common each one is.

Adj — Shaking slightly, especially from fear, cold or weakness.

Synonyms

Less common

Still standard English, but they carry more weight.

shaky fearful

Rare, literary or technical

Precise, but they will stand out — check the sense before using one.

quaking quavering shivering trembly timorous wavering

Synonyms by Meaning

1. adj

Shaking slightly, especially from fear, cold or weakness.

““Thank God!” he cried brokenly, all the pent emotion of the long night vibrant in his tremulous voice.”

shaky quaking quavering shivering trembly

Opposites

steady

2. adj

Nervous and unsure, showing a lack of confidence.

“This, hard on the heels of the death of Julia Child in 2004, makes one tremulous about the future.”

fearful timorous wavering

Etymology

This word comes from Latin tremulus, formed from tremō (“to tremble, shake”) and -ulus; it is a doublet of tremor and tremble. On the surface it can also be analysed as tremulate plus -ous.

Full origin of tremulous →

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steady fearful shaky shivering timorous quaking wavering trembly

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