Standard Lemma guide

tremble

name · noun · verb · 6 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • /ˈtɹɛmbl̩/
  • Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • CMU ARPABET: T R EH1 M B AH0 L Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

name

Meaning 1

A surname.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

A shake, quiver, or vibration.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

verb

Meaning 3

To shake, quiver, or vibrate.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: intransitive

Examples

  • Her lip started to tremble as she burst into tears
  • The dog was trembling from being in the cold weather all day.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

4

verb

Meaning 4

To fear; to be afraid.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: figuratively, intransitive

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: quail

Antonyms: none provided

5

noun

Meaning 5

a reflex motion caused by cold or fear or excitement

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: shiver, shake

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: reflex, reflex response, reflex action, instinctive reflex, innate reflex, inborn reflex, unconditioned reflex, physiological reaction

6

verb

Meaning 6

move or jerk quickly and involuntarily up and down or sideways

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • His hands were trembling when he signed the document

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: shake, agitate

Narrower terms: shudder, shiver, throb, thrill, quiver, quake, palpitate

History

Etymology

From Middle English tremblen, from Old French trembler, from Late Latin tremulāre, ultimately from Latin tremere (“quiver, shake”). Cognate with Ancient Greek τρέμω (trémō).

Across languages

Translations

158 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Arabic: رَجْفَة (rajfa) — a shake
  • Armenian: դող (doġ) — a shake
  • Bulgarian: треперене (treperene) — a shake
  • Bulgarian: трепет (trepet) — a shake
  • Catalan: tremolor — a shake
  • Chinese Mandarin: 哆嗦 (duōsuo) — a shake
  • Chinese Mandarin: 顫抖 /颤抖 (chàndǒu or zhàndǒu) — a shake
  • Chinese Mandarin: 發抖 /发抖 (fādǒu) — a shake
  • Chinese Mandarin: 顫慄 /颤栗 (zhànlì) — a shake
  • Chinese Mandarin: 震顫 /震颤 (zhènchàn) — a shake
  • Finnish: värinä — a shake
  • French: tremblement — a shake
  • French: vibration — a shake
  • Galician: tremor — a shake
  • German: Zittern — a shake
  • Ingrian: väry — a shake
  • Italian: tremore — a shake
  • Japanese: 震え (furue) — a shake
  • Central Kurdish: لەرزە (lerze) — a shake
  • Māori: korohāwini — a shake
  • Portuguese: tremor — a shake
  • Russian: дрожь (drožʹ) — a shake
  • Russian: дрожа́ние (drožánije) — a shake
  • Spanish: temblor — a shake
  • Spanish: temblequera — a shake
  • Tok Pisin: guria — a shake
  • Yiddish: ציטער (tsiter) — a shake
  • Albanian: tund — to shake
  • Southern Altai: тырлаар (tïrlaar) — to shake
  • Arabic: اِخْتَلَجَ (iḵtalaja) — to shake
  • Arabic: اِرْتَجَفَ (irtajafa) — to shake
  • Iraqi Arabic: رَجَفْ (rajaf) — to shake
  • Iraqi Arabic: اِرْتَجَفْ (irtajaf) — to shake
  • Arabic: اترعد (ttarʕad) — to shake
  • Armenian: դողալ (doġal) — to shake
  • Aromanian: treambur — to shake
  • Aromanian: treamur — to shake
  • Azerbaijani: titrəmək — to shake
  • Belarusian: дрыжа́ць (dryžácʹ) — to shake
  • Bulgarian: треперя (treperja) — to shake
  • Bulgarian: трептя (treptja) — to shake
  • Catalan: tremolar — to shake
  • Cherokee: ᎤᎾᏫᎠ (unawia) — to shake
  • Chickasaw: yollichi — to shake
  • Chinese Mandarin: 哆嗦 (duōsuo) — to shake
  • Chinese Mandarin: 顫抖 /颤抖 (chàndǒu or zhàndǒu) — to shake
  • Chinese Mandarin: 發抖 /发抖 (fādǒu) — to shake
  • Chinese Mandarin: 顫慄 /颤栗 (zhànlì) — to shake
  • Chinese Mandarin: 震顫 /震颤 (zhènchàn) — to shake
  • Crimean Tatar: qaltıramaq — to shake
  • Czech: třást se — to shake
  • Czech: chvět se — to shake
  • Dutch: beven — to shake
  • Esperanto: tremi — to shake
  • Finnish: täristä — to shake
  • Finnish: väristä — to shake
  • French: trembler — to shake
  • French: vibrer — to shake
  • Friulian: trimâ — to shake
  • Friulian: trimulâ — to shake
  • Friulian: balitâ — to shake
  • Friulian: fremi — to shake
  • Galician: tremer — to shake
  • Galician: treinar — to shake
  • Galician: buligar — to shake
  • German: zittern — to shake
  • Gothic: 𐍂𐌴𐌹𐍂𐌰𐌽 (reiran) — to shake
  • Greek: τρέμω (trémo) — to shake
  • Ancient Greek: τρέμω (trémō) — to shake
  • Hindi: काँपना (kā̃pnā) — to shake
  • Hungarian: reszket — to shake
  • Hungarian: remeg — to shake
  • Ingrian: hötissä — to shake
  • Ingrian: värissä — to shake
  • Irish: creath — to shake
  • Irish: creathnaigh — to shake
  • Italian: tremare — to shake
  • Italian: tremolare — to shake
  • Japanese: 震える (furueru) — to shake
  • Kapampangan: karug — to shake
  • Kituba: lenga — to shake
  • Kituba: kulenga — to shake
  • Korean: 떨다 (tteolda) — to shake
  • Middle Korean: 드러〮치다〮 (tùléchìtá) — to shake
  • Central Kurdish: لەرزین (lerzîn) — to shake
  • Latgalian: treisēt — to shake
  • Latin: tremō — to shake
  • Latvian: trīcēt — to shake
  • Luxembourgish: zidderen — to shake
  • Macedonian: трепери (treperi) — to shake
  • Māori: rūrūtaina — to shake
  • Māori: ngāueue — to shake
  • Māori: kūnāwiri — to shake
  • Māori: whakaruerue — to shake
  • Megleno-Romanian: trimur — to shake
  • Norman: tremblier — to shake
  • Norwegian Bokmål: skjelve — to shake
  • Norwegian Bokmål: dirre — to shake
  • Occitan: tremolar — to shake
  • Old English: bifian — to shake
  • Persian: لرزیدن (larzidan) — to shake
  • Polish: drżeć — to shake
  • Portuguese: tremer — to shake
  • Portuguese: agitar vigorosamente — to shake
  • Quechua: chuhchuy — to shake
  • Romanian: tremura — to shake
  • Russian: дрожа́ть (drožátʹ) — to shake
  • Russian: трясти́сь (trjastísʹ) — to shake
  • Russian: трепета́ть (trepetátʹ) — to shake
  • Sanskrit: वेप॑ते (vépate) — to shake
  • Sardinian: tremuài — to shake
  • Sardinian: tremulai — to shake
  • Sardinian: tremulare — to shake
  • Sardinian: trimulare — to shake
  • Serbo-Croatian: дрхтати — to shake
  • Serbo-Croatian: drhtati — to shake
  • Sicilian: trantulijari — to shake
  • Sicilian: trimari — to shake
  • Slovak: triasť sa — to shake
  • Slovak: chvieť sa — to shake
  • Slovene: tresti se — to shake
  • Slovene: drhteti — to shake
  • Lower Sorbian: rdžaś — to shake
  • Spanish: temblar — to shake
  • Spanish: sacudir — to shake
  • Spanish: tiritar — to shake
  • Spanish: titiritar — to shake
  • Spanish: rilar — to shake
  • Swedish: darra — to shake
  • Tajik: ларзидан (larzidan) — to shake
  • Talysh: larze — to shake
  • Tamil: நடுங்கு (naṭuṅku) — to shake
  • Tat: lərzilən — to shake
  • Telugu: అదురు (aduru) — to shake
  • Thai: สั่น (sàn) — to shake
  • Tok Pisin: guria — to shake
  • Turkish: titremek — to shake
  • Turkish: ürpermek — to shake
  • Ukrainian: тремті́ти (tremtíty) — to shake
  • Ukrainian: труси́тися (trusýtysja) — to shake
  • Urdu: کانپنا (kā̃pnā) — to shake
  • Venetan: tremar — to shake
  • Venetan: tremołar — to shake
  • Vietnamese: run — to shake
  • Vietnamese: rung — to shake
  • Walloon: tronner — to shake
  • Walloon: triyaner — to shake
  • Welsh: crynu — to shake
  • Yiddish: ציטערן (tsitern) — to shake
  • Albanian: tremb — to be afraid
  • Azerbaijani: titrəmək — to be afraid
  • Bulgarian: тръпна (trǎpna) — to be afraid
  • Bulgarian: опасявам се (opasjavam se) — to be afraid
  • French: trembler — to be afraid
  • Māori: rūrūtaina — to be afraid
  • Norwegian Bokmål: frykte — to be afraid
  • Sicilian: trantulijari — to be afraid
  • Sicilian: siri scantatu — to be afraid