tremulous
Americanadjective
-
(of persons, the body, etc.) characterized by trembling, as from fear, nervousness, or weakness.
- Synonyms:
- hesitant
-
timid; timorous; fearful.
- Synonyms:
- afraid, frightened
-
(of things) vibratory, shaking, or quivering.
-
(of writing) done with a trembling hand.
adjective
-
vibrating slightly; quavering; trembling
a tremulous voice
-
showing or characterized by fear, anxiety, excitement, etc
Other Word Forms
- tremulously adverb
- tremulousness noun
- untremulous adjective
- untremulously adverb
- untremulousness noun
Etymology
Origin of tremulous
1605–15; < Latin tremulus, equivalent to trem ( ere ) to tremble + -ulus adj. suffix
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
“Every single day I was on it, all day long,” the Chico, Calif., woman said Thursday, her voice tremulous and her cheeks flushed to the color of her rose maxi dress.
From Los Angeles Times
While it doesn’t share that series’ satiric humor, it is a solid mystery-thriller that Thompson’s jaded Zoë Boehm and Wilson’s tremulous but tough Sarah Tucker lift into the revelatory.
From Los Angeles Times
Fife's Jacob Alon is possessed of an otherworldly voice – simultaneously angelic and tremulous with vulnerability.
From BBC
Odell's voice, which tends towards the tremulous, thrums with emotional resonance, gently underscored by brushed drums and swelling strings.
From BBC
The independent presidential candidate recounts those times somewhat wistfully, telling interviewers that he “can’t stand” the sound of his voice today — sometimes choked, halting and slightly tremulous.
From Los Angeles Times
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
