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Webster 1913 Edition


Tremulous

Trem′u-lous

,
Adj.
[L.
tremulus
, fr.
tremere
to tremble. See
Tremble
.]
1.
Shaking; shivering; quivering;
as, a
tremulous
limb; a
tremulous
motion of the hand or the lips; the
tremulous
leaf of the poplar
.
2.
Affected with fear or timidity; trembling.
The tender,
tremulous
Christian.
Dr. H. More.
Trem′u-lous-ly
,
adv.
Trem′u-lous-ness
,
Noun.

Webster 1828 Edition


Tremulous

TREM'ULOUS

,
Adj.
[L. tremulus, from tremo, to tremble.]
1.
Trembling; affected with fear or timidity; as a trembling christian.
2.
Shaking; shivering; quivering; as a tremulous limb; a tremulous motion of the hand or the lips; the tremulous leaf of the poplar.

Definition 2024


tremulous

tremulous

English

Adjective

tremulous (comparative more tremulous, superlative most tremulous)

  1. Trembling, quivering, or shaking.
    • 1850, Nathaniel Hawthorne, The Scarlet Letter, ch. 3:
      The trying nature of his position drove the blood from his cheek, and made his lips tremulous.
    • 1919, William MacLeod Raine, A Man Four-Square, ch. 27:
      "Thank God!" he cried brokenly, all the pent emotion of the long night vibrant in his tremulous voice.
    • 1956, Delano Ames, chapter 12, in Crime out of Mind:
      Light filtered in through the blinds of the french windows. It made tremulous stripes along the scrubbed pine floor.
  2. Timid, hesitant, or unconfident.
    • 1891, Grant Allen, The Great Taboo, ch. 15:
      "You have lived here long?" Felix asked, with tremulous interest, as he took a seat.
    • 2009 Oct. 7, Christopher Kimball, "Opinion: Gourmet to All That," New York Times (retrieved 18 Aug 2012):
      This, hard on the heels of the death of Julia Child in 2004, makes one tremulous about the future.

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