Adjacent Words

Quake definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

QUAKE, v.i.
1. To shake; to tremble; to be agitated with quick but short motions continually repeated; to shudder. Thus we say, a person quakes with fear or terror, or with cold. Hebrews 12.
2. To shake with violent convulsions, as well as with trembling; as, the earth quakes; the mountains quake. Nehemiah 1.
3. To shake, tremble or move, as the earth under the feet; as the quaking mud.
QUAKE, v.t. To frighten; to throw into agitation. [Not used.]
QUAKE, n. A shake; a trembling; a shudder; a tremulous agitation.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: shaking and vibration at the surface of the earth resulting from underground movement along a fault plane of from volcanic activity [syn: earthquake, quake, temblor, seism] v
1: shake with fast, tremulous movements; "His nostrils palpitated" [syn: quiver, quake, palpitate]
2: shake with seismic vibrations; "The earth was quaking" [syn: tremor, quake]

Merriam Webster's

I. intransitive verb (quaked; quaking) Etymology: Middle English, from Old English cwacian Date: before 12th century 1. to shake or vibrate usually from shock or instability 2. to tremble or shudder usually from cold or fear II. noun Date: 14th century an instance of shaking or trembling (as of the earth or moon); especially earthquake

Oxford Reference Dictionary

v. & n. --v.intr. 1 shake, tremble. 2 rock to and fro. 3 (of a person) shake or shudder (was quaking with fear). --n. 1 colloq. an earthquake. 2 an act of quaking. Phrases and idioms: quaking-grass any grass of the genus Briza, having slender stalks and trembling in the wind: also called dodder-grass. Derivatives: quaky adj. (quakier, quakiest). Etymology: OE cwacian

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Quake Quake, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Quaked; p. pr. & vb. n. Quaking.] [AS. cwacian; cf. G. quackeln. Cf. Quagmire.] 1. To be agitated with quick, short motions continually repeated; to shake with fear, cold, etc.; to shudder; to tremble. ``Quaking for dread.'' --Chaucer. She stood quaking like the partridge on which the hawk is ready to seize. --Sir P. Sidney. 2. To shake, vibrate, or quiver, either from not being solid, as soft, wet land, or from violent convulsion of any kind; as, the earth quakes; the mountains quake. `` Over quaking bogs.'' --Macaulay.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Quake Quake, v. t. [Cf. AS. cweccan to move, shake. See Quake, v. t.] To cause to quake. [Obs.] --Shak.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Quake Quake, n. A tremulous agitation; a quick vibratory movement; a shudder; a quivering.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(quakes, quaking, quaked) 1. A quake is the same as an earthquake. The quake destroyed mud buildings in many remote villages. N-COUNT 2. If you quake, you shake, usually because you are very afraid. I just stood there quaking with fear... Her shoulders quaked. VERB: V with n, V 3. If you are quaking in your boots or quaking in your shoes, you feel very nervous or afraid, and may be feeling slightly weak as a result. PHRASE: V inflects

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

v. n. 1. Shake, tremble, shudder, shiver, quiver. 2. Shake, tremble, vibrate, quiver, move.

Moby Thesaurus

apoplexy, be cold, bob, bobble, bounce, breakup, bump, cataclysm, chatter, chill, climax, convulsion, diastrophism, didder, disaster, dither, earthquake, falter, fidget, fit, flip out, fluctuate, flutter, freak out on, freeze, freeze to death, get high on, glow, go pitapat, grimace, grow cold, have a chill, have an ague, have goose pimples, have the fidgets, have the shakes, heave, horripilate, hustle, jactitate, jar, jerk, jig, jigget, jiggle, jog, joggle, jolt, jostle, jounce, jump, lose heat, overthrow, palpitate, pant, paroxysm, perish with cold, quaker, quaver, quiver, rictus, shake, shake all over, shiver, shock, shudder, spasm, squirm, stagger, stroke, swell, swell with emotion, temblor, thrill, thrill to, throb, tic, tidal wave, tingle, tingle with excitement, toss, toss and turn, tremble, trembler, tremblor, tremor, tsunami, tumble, turn on to, twist and turn, twitch, twitter, upheaval, vibrate, waver, wiggle, wobble, wriggle, writhe