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vibrate

vib·rate

UK/vaɪˈbɹeɪt/ US/ˈvaɪ.bɹeɪt/ uncommon dated rare slang

verb

2.

move or swing from side to side regularly

  • “the needle on the meter was oscillating”
Synonyms
3.

be undecided about something; waver between conflicting positions or courses of action

  • “He oscillates between accepting the new position and retirement”
4.

sound with resonance

  • “The sound resonates well in this theater”
Synonyms
5.

feel sudden intense sensation or emotion

  • “he was thrilled by the speed and the roar of the engine”
Synonyms

Origin

The adjective (then also used as a participle) is first attested in 1420, in Middle English, the verb in 1620; partly from Middle English vibrat(e) (“reverberant”), partly directly borrowed from Latin vibrātus, perfect passive participle of vibrō (“to agitate, set in tremulous motion”) (see -ate (etymology 1, 2 and 3)), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *weyp- (“to oscillate, swing”) or *weyb-.

Related words

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.