pulsate

verb

pul·​sate ˈpəl-ˌsāt 

 also  ˌpəl-ˈsāt

pulsated; pulsating

intransitive verb

1

: to throb or move rhythmically : vibrate

2

: to exhibit a pulse or pulsation : beat

Synonyms

• beat
• palpitate
• pit-a-pat
• pitter-patter
• pulse
• throb

Examples of pulsate in a Sentence

The lights pulsated with the music.

People danced to the pulsating sounds of hip-hop.

Virtually every scene of the movie pulsates with suspense.

Recent Examples on the Web

Last year, observations of the subtle movements of pulsating stars known as a pulsar timing array revealed a background hum of gravitational waves in the universe—ripples in the fabric of space-time. —Jonathan O’Callaghan, WIRED, 1 Dec. 2024

Opening the laptop, the black, island-style keyboard flickers to life with pulsating three-zone RGB backlighting. —PCMAG, 27 Nov. 2024

Founded in 2021, Arcade draws inspiration from video games in both its name and product, which includes features like pulsating dots and load times. —Allie Garfinkle, Fortune, 21 Nov. 2024

Those emotions haven’t just lingered but pulsated in the weeks since. —Joshua Kloke, The Athletic, 14 Aug. 2024

Word History

Etymology

in part borrowed from Latin pulsātus, past participle of pulsāre "to strike with repeated blows, beat, (in passive) beat wildly (of the heart)," frequentative or repetitive derivative of pellere "to beat against, push, strike"; in part from pulse entry 1 + -ate entry 4 — more at pulse entry 1

First Known Use

1744, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

pulsate

verb

pul·​sate ˈpəl-ˌsāt 

pulsated; pulsating

1

: to throb or move rhythmically

2

: to exhibit a pulse or pulsation : beat

a heart pulsating

Medical Definition

pulsate

intransitive verb

pul·​sate

ˈpəl-ˌsāt also ˌpəl-ˈ

pulsated; pulsating

: to exhibit a pulse or pulsation

a pulsating artery