Hello, you have come here looking for the meaning of the word
tremulous. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word
tremulous, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say
tremulous in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word
tremulous you have here. The definition of the word
tremulous will help you to be more precise and correct when speaking or writing your texts. Knowing the definition of
tremulous, as well as those of other words, enriches your vocabulary and provides you with more and better linguistic resources.
English
Etymology
From Latin tremulus, from tremō (“I tremble, shake”) + -ulus.[1] Doublet of tremor and tremble. By surface analysis, tremulate + -ous.
Pronunciation
Adjective
tremulous (comparative more tremulous, superlative most tremulous)
- Trembling, quivering, or shaking.
- Synonyms: quaking, shivering, shaky, trembly, tremulant
1769, Firishta, translated by Alexander Dow, Tales translated from the Persian of Inatulla of Delhi, volume I, Dublin: P. and W. Wilson et al., page iv:Tremulous on the bladed graſs ſhone bright the pearly drops, like an aſſembly of ſparkling ſtars dancing on the plains of the zodiac; vocal was every bending ſpray, every reed was inſpired, each warbling throat ſeemed to emulate the melodious voice of the bird of a thouſand ſongs.
1850, Nathaniel Hawthorne, “The Recognition”, in The Scarlet Letter, a Romance, Boston, Mass.: Ticknor, Reed, and Fields, →OCLC, page 79:The trying nature of his position drove the blood from his cheek, and made his lips tremulous.
1891, Oscar Wilde, chapter I, in The Picture of Dorian Gray, London, New York, N.Y., Melbourne, Vic.: Ward Lock & Co., →OCLC, page 1:[…] Lord Henry Wotton could just catch the gleam of the honey-sweet and honey-coloured blossoms of a laburnum, whose tremulous branches seemed hardly able to bear the burden of a beauty so flame-like as theirs[.]
1892, Walt Whitman, “Children of Adam: Once I Pass’d Through a Populous City”, in Leaves of Grass , Philadelphia, Pa.: David McKay, publisher, , →OCLC, page 94:Again she holds me by the hand, I must not go, / I see her close beside me with silent lips sad and tremulous.
1956, Delano Ames, chapter 12, in Crime out of Mind, New York: I Washburn:Light filtered in through the blinds of the french windows. It made tremulous stripes along the scrubbed pine floor.
- Timid, hesitant; lacking confidence.
- Synonyms: fearful, timorous, wavering
1816 June – 1817 April/May (date written), [Mary Shelley], chapter II, in Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus. , volume III, London: for Lackington, Hughes, Harding, Mavor, & Jones, published 1 January 1818, →OCLC, page 39:In the mean time I worked on, and my labour was already considerably advanced. I looked towards its completion with a tremulous and eager hope, which I dared not trust myself to question, but which was intermixed with obscure forebodings of evil, that made my heart sicken in my bosom.
1891, Grant Allen, chapter XV, in The Great Taboo, New York: Harper & Brothers, →OCLC, page 132:“You have lived here long?” Felix asked, with tremulous interest, as he took a seat on the bench under the big tree, towards which his new host politely motioned him.
2009 October 7, Christopher Kimball, “Opinion: Gourmet to All That”, in The New York Times, New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2023-04-27:This, hard on the heels of the death of Julia Child in 2004, makes one tremulous about the future.
Derived terms
Translations
References
Further reading
- “tremulous”, in Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster, 1996–present.
- “tremulous”, in Dictionary.com Unabridged, Dictionary.com, LLC, 1995–present.
- “tremulous, a.”, in The Century Dictionary , New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.