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vibrate

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Vibrate is defined as to move back and forth, or to tremble or shake.

(verb)

An example of vibrate is for strings on a violin to bounce back and forth and give off a sound.

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See vibrate in Webster's New World College Dictionary

transitive verb vibrated, vibrating

to give off (light or sound) by vibration
to set in to-and-fro motion; oscillate
to cause to quiver

Origin: < L vibratus, pp. of vibrare, to vibrate, shake < IE *weib- (< base *wei-, to turn) > wipe

intransitive verb

to swing back and forth; oscillate, as a pendulum
to move rapidly back and forth; quiver, as a plucked string
to resound: said of sounds
to be emotionally stirred; thrill
to waver or vacillate, as between two choices

See vibrate in American Heritage Dictionary 4

verb vi·brat·ed, vi·brat·ing, vi·brates

verb, intransitive

To move back and forth or to and fro, especially rhythmically and rapidly. See Synonyms at swing.
To feel a quiver of emotion.
To shake or move with or as if with a slight quivering or trembling motion: “Even as the film moved . . . to the more deadly fields of Vietnam, old hatreds vibrated in me” (Loudon Wainwright).
To produce a sound; resonate.
To fluctuate or waver in making choices; vacillate.

verb, transitive

To cause to tremble or quiver.
To cause to move back and forth rapidly.
To produce (sound) by vibration.

Origin:

Origin: Latin vibrāre, vibrāt-; see weip- in Indo-European roots

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Related Forms:

viˈbra·tive, viˈbra·toˌry (-brə-tôrˌē, -tōrˌē) adjective

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