Meaning

3 senses

  1. To shake in a trembling manner.

    zittern

  2. (intransitive)To use the voice in a trembling manner, as in speaking or singing.

    trillern

  3. (transitive)To utter quaveringly.

More definitions
  • give off unsteady sounds, alternating in amplitude or frequency
  • sing or play with trills, alternating with the half note above or below

Examples

5 sentences

  1. His odes shall be read with minim, or crochet, or quaver rests.

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  2. His voice quavered with anger.

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  3. Tom's voice quavered, betraying him.

    ruГолос Тома предательски дрогнул.

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  4. Tom's voice quavered.

    ruГолос у Тома дрогнул.

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  5. With a hand full of bills, a poorly dressed old man, whose voice quavered, asked whether he could settle his bills here.

    deMit einer Hand voller Rechnungen fragte ein ärmlich gekleideter alter Mann dessen Stimme zitterte, ob man hier seine Schulden begleichen könne.

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Translations

1 languages
Deutsch
By meaning 2
to shake:
to use the voice in a trembling manner:

Origin

From Middle English quaveren, frequentative form of quaven, cwavien (“to tremble”), equiva

From Middle English quaveren, frequentative form of quaven, cwavien (“to tremble”), equivalent to quave + -er. Cognate with Low German quabbeln (“to quiver”), German quabbeln, quappeln (“to quiver”). More at quave, quab, quiver.

Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · source

Forms

quavers, quavering, quavered, quavered
Base formquaver · to quaver
3rd person singularquavers
Present participlequavering
Past simplequavered
Past participlequavered

regular · Lesson

Present simpleLesson

I, you, we, theyquaver
he, she, itquavers

Past simpleLesson

all personsquavered

Present perfectLesson

I, you, we, theyhave quavered
he, she, ithas quavered

Future simple (will)Lesson

all personswill quaver

Synonyms

4 synonyms
wobble
Close in meaning
  • give off unsteady sounds, alternating in amplitude or frequency:waver
  • sing or play with trills, alternating with the half note above or below:warbletrill

Word family

5 related words
Derivedquavererquaveringlyquaverousquaveryunquavering

Lessons for this word

3 lessons

See also

neighbours in the dictionary
quartetquartzquashquassiaquayqueasyqueenA2
quaver — meaning, examples, forms, synonyms | Krumeto