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View synonyms for vibrate

vibrate

[vahy-breyt]

verb (used without object)

vibrated, vibrating 
  1. to move rhythmically and steadily to and fro, as a pendulum; oscillate.

  2. to move to and fro or up and down quickly and repeatedly; quiver; tremble.

  3. (of sounds) to produce or have a quivering or vibratory effect; resound.

    Synonyms: echo
  4. to thrill, as in emotional response.

  5. to move between alternatives or extremes; fluctuate; vacillate.



verb (used with object)

vibrated, vibrating 
  1. to cause to move rhythmically and steadily to and fro, swing, or oscillate.

  2. to cause to move to and fro or up and down quickly and repeatedly; cause to quiver or tremble.

  3. to give forth or emit by, or as by, vibration.

  4. to measure or indicate by vibration or oscillation.

    a pendulum vibrating seconds.

vibrate

/ vaɪˈbreɪt, ˈvaɪbrəˌtaɪl /

verb

  1. to move or cause to move back and forth rapidly; shake, quiver, or throb

  2. (intr) to oscillate

  3. to send out (a sound) by vibration; resonate or cause to resonate

  4. (intr) to waver

  5. physics to undergo or cause to undergo an oscillatory or periodic process, as of an alternating current; oscillate

  6. rare,  (intr) to respond emotionally; thrill

“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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Other Word Forms

  • vibratingly adverb
  • nonvibrating adjective
  • revibrate verb
  • unvibrated adjective
  • unvibrating adjective
  • vibratile adjective
  • vibratory adjective
  • vibrating adjective
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Word History and Origins

Origin of vibrate1

First recorded in 1610–20; from Latin vibrātus (past participle of vibrāre “to move to and fro”); -ate 1
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Word History and Origins

Origin of vibrate1

C17: from Latin vibrāre
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Synonym Study

See shake.
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Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

Compatible phones - the vast majority of those currently in use - will vibrate and make a siren sound for roughly 10 seconds.

From BBC

Stiller apologizes and silences his phone, which continues to vibrate busily on the table.

In the weeks following the event, the town is turned upside down, vibrating with grief and fear as all eyes slowly turn toward Justine.

From Salon

What has the White House vibrating is the scale of the revisions.

“Everything was vibrating. ... I was scared. I didn’t know what it was. It sounded very close.”

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vibraphonevibratile