as in resonant
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as in trilling
to sing with the alternation of two musical tones
know-it-alls snickered as the opera singer quavered on the high note
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of quavering
H.d. Angel, Pitchfork, 6 Feb. 2026
Literary Hub, 29 Jan. 2026
The combination of quavering flutes and solemn, unfamiliar corridors is disquieting.
—Hazlitt, 10 Dec. 2025
Funke, her voice quavering throughout, recounted the events of the previous night.
—Sasha Pezenik, ABC News, 5 Sep. 2025
Her voice quavering with emotion, Pawol talked about getting the news during a Wednesday conference call with director of umpire development Rich Rieker and vice president of umpire operations Matt McKendry.
—Ronald Blum, Chicago Tribune, 7 Aug. 2025
Adjective
Unmoored from tradition and offering only vague, impressionistic lyrics, Granli’s quavering performances on Rosacea become Rorschach tests, ripe for free association with whatever images your psyche can dredge up.
—H.d. Angel, Pitchfork, 6 Feb. 2026
Verb
The governor, Tim Walz, defeated for the Vice Presidency, gets on TV, his voice quavering, saying the right things, speaking the truth, and advising courage.
—Literary Hub, 29 Jan. 2026
The combination of quavering flutes and solemn, unfamiliar corridors is disquieting.
—Hazlitt, 10 Dec. 2025
Funke, her voice quavering throughout, recounted the events of the previous night.
—Sasha Pezenik, ABC News, 5 Sep. 2025
Her voice quavering with emotion, Pawol talked about getting the news during a Wednesday conference call with director of umpire development Rich Rieker and vice president of umpire operations Matt McKendry.
—Ronald Blum, Chicago Tribune, 7 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for quavering
Adjective
-
The effect is deliberately jarring, and, for tens of thousands of viewers, instantly resonant.—
Melissa Fleur Afshar,
MSNBC Newsweek,
31 Mar. 2026
-
While calling The Comeback a dramedy may be a stretch, the series has moved away from the broader humor of its inaugural season and evolved into something richer and more emotionally resonant.—
Louis Peitzman,
Vulture,
30 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
Sounds of loud trilling shouts after silent hunts, and singing.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
3 Nov. 2025
-
The blast furnace of volcanoes has fallen silent, replaced by birdsong trilling from the branches and echoing through a garden of exotic stone.—
Roger Naylor,
AZCentral.com,
29 Aug. 2025
Adjective
-
The sonorous presence of actor Morgan Freeman will be one of the highlights of the Beatles on the Beach festival in Boca Raton on March 12-15, which will include a March 14 performance by Morgan Freeman’s Symphonic Blues Experience.—
Ben Crandell,
Sun Sentinel,
7 Mar. 2026
-
Authoritative, sonorous and compelling, his is the voice that persuaded millions that the Martians had landed in Grover’s Mills, New Jersey in The War of the Worlds.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
5 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
The song may be six minutes long, but the circuitous lope of his acoustic-guitar strum and low throb of his warbling feel eternal, like the type of tune Sisyphus might have hummed to keep himself company.—
Craig Jenkins,
Vulture,
2 Dec. 2025
Adjective
-
Kaye’s style was distinctive in its emphasis on melodic and rhythmically active bass lines.—
Encyclopedia Britannica,
Encyclopedia Britannica,
3 Apr. 2026
-
When workshopping the material, however, Psalmayene 24 could feel Lewis’s life begging for a melodic treatment and pivoted to a musical.—
Thomas Floyd,
Washington Post,
31 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
The crowds had thinned, a table for lunch at the No Name Saloon was easy to acquire, and the dulcet tones of power tools filled the air as the Chase Sapphire Lounge was dismantled.—
Mia Galuppo,
HollywoodReporter,
7 Feb. 2026
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Wishing you a week of dulcet tones, giddy resistance, and a thousand pancakes.—
Brittany Allen,
Literary Hub,
6 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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Many songs are now written on computers, using sequencers, patterns, and loops, with notes laid out in perfect synchrony on a rhythmic, 4/4 grid.—
Joshua Rothman,
New Yorker,
3 Apr. 2026
-
Instead, Angine de Poitrine are more like Meshuggah or Dawn of Midi, establishing a meter and then creating rhythmic illusions using creative bursts of syncopation.—
Christopher R. Weingarten,
Pitchfork,
3 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
Their rare sprinkling of colorful choices throughout were even less appealing to the modern aesthete’s eye, right down to the pinkish-red bathroom.—
Kathryn O’Shea-Evans,
Robb Report,
29 Mar. 2026
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Now, agents field interest from sometimes dozens of potential buyers, and authors can pick the deal most appealing to them.—
Leah Asmelash,
CNN Money,
29 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Quavering.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/quavering. Accessed 5 Apr. 2026.
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