Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
😬 To tremble 😬 A shaky sound 🎵 A short note
quaver

quaver

1 7.8
A shaky sound in a person's voice when they are nervous or very emotional
  • noun
  • /ˈkwāvər/
translation icon : temblor
  • Father George Morville nodded recognition at the alien, reluctantly, and went on giving the tour, the quaver of age in his voice multiplying in the echo off the marble pilasters.
  • quaver in her voice
  • a slight quaver

Examples

  • "What's going on, Rhett?" Scarlett's voice had a quaver in it.

    Fiction book (1991)

  • But her voice quavers, and confusion creases her brow again.

    Fiction book (1993)

  • "Dead?" I asked, hearing the quaver in my own voice.

    Fiction book (1992)

  • "Hello?" My voice came out in a quaver.

    Fiction book (1990)

  • There was a little quaver in her voice as she looked at her twin sister.

    Fiction book (1993)

  • His voice had a shameful quaver.

    Fiction book (2001)

  • "There's a slight quaver in her voice."

    Fiction book (1996)

  • "I was extraordinarily scared," she admitted, then resorted to anger to cover the quaver in her voice.

    Fiction book (1994)

  • Protestingly, he flailed at their hands, but even to his own ears his voice held a quaver of weakness that appalled him.

    Fiction book (1991)

  • I could hear the quaver in her voice as she spoke about her childhood memories.

Synonyms

quavery
vsquaver
1 8.0

A shaky sound in someone's voice that shows nervousness or emotion

refers to the actual tremulous sound rather than the general quality

How Trembling

shudder
20 4.1
tremor
37 5.3
quaver
1 7.8
wobbling
5.4
tremolo
  • Specialized
1 9.1
steady
186 1.3

Surface Forms

quaver singular
quavers plural

Etymology

Quaver (tremulous sound) comes from an old verb meaning 'to tremble', similar to quiver and quake. When a person's voice has a quaver, it literally 'trembles', which is why the word means a wavering or shaking sound.