Link Centre Dictionary

pulsate

pul·sate

UK/pʌlˈseɪt/ US/ˈpʌl.seɪt/ uncommon

verb

1.

expand and contract rhythmically; beat rhythmically

  • “The baby”
Synonyms
2.

move with or as if with a regular alternating motion

  • “the city pulsated with music and excitement”
Synonyms
3.

produce or modulate (as electromagnetic waves) in the form of short bursts or pulses or cause an apparatus to produce pulses

  • “pulse waves”
  • “a transmitter pulsed by an electronic tube”
Synonyms

Origin

Perhaps formed within English as a back-formation from pulsation (attested from the early 15th century, in Middle English). A figurative derivation from New Latin pulsō, pulsātum (“(of an organ) to pulse, to emit a pulse”, intransitive) is also possible, itself a back-formation of New Latin pulsātiō (“pulsation”, 14th century), or derived from classical Latin pulsō (“to strike repeatedly”, transitive) with semantic influence from classical pulsus (“a pulse”). Ultimately from Latin pellō (“to strike”). By surface analysis, pulse + -ate (verb-forming suffix). Doublet of push.

Related words

Word family

Broader terms

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.