SHAKING Synonyms: 144 Similar and Opposite Words

shaking 1 of 3

adjective

Definition of shaking next

as in trembling

marked by or given to small uncontrollable bodily movements suffered a shaking chill during his bout with the flu

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shaking

2 of 3

noun

as in twitching

a series of slight movements by a body back and forth or from side to side gave the bottle of salad dressing a good shaking

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as in escape

the act or a means of getting or keeping away from something undesirable condemned the government's shaking of its overseas responsibilities

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shaking

3 of 3

verb

present participle of shake

as in jerking

to make a series of small irregular or violent movements the bus rattled and shook as it barreled down a rutted road

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as in avoiding

to get or keep away from (as a responsibility) through cleverness or trickery we shook our pursuers by cutting through the abandoned lot

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of shaking

Noun

Earthquakes' sudden, rapid shaking can cause fires, tsunamis, landslides or avalanches. —

Ca Earthquake Bot, Sacbee.com, 23 May 2026

Verb

Built from the bones of a 12th-century hostelry, its hub is a vast, glamorous lounge bar complete with mixologists shaking modern-day mocktails under the ancient beams. —

Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 23 May 2026 José Gonzales, director of Fuerza de los Barrios (Strength of the Neighborhoods), told him their work as community activists involved shaking apple trees for their community to enjoy the fruits of their labor. —

Richard J. Gonzales, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 23 May 2026 Strong shaking was widely reported across the islands but there has been no apparent impacts to Mauna Loa or Kīlauea, officials said. —

Jon Haworth, ABC News, 23 May 2026 More than 2,400 people submitted reports about feeling shaking within a few hours of the main quake, USGS said. —

Jeanine Santucci, USA Today, 23 May 2026 Strong to very strong shaking was reported on the west side of the Island of Hawaii, and the earthquake resulted in several aftershocks. —

Robert McGreevy, FOXNews.com, 23 May 2026 The rest of are shaking our heads. —

Alex Zietlow, Charlotte Observer, 22 May 2026 Ronaldo trudged off the pitch, shaking his head, and was absent for the runners-up presentation. —

Jordan Campbell, New York Times, 21 May 2026 Adames could be seen shaking his hand after committing an error on a sharp grounder in the bottom of the fifth, and rookie Jesús Rodríguez pinch-hit for Adames in the top of the sixth. —

Justice Delos Santos, Mercury News, 20 May 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for shaking

Noun

All the trembling, as Kimbangu touched the sick, alarmed European settlers and reassured the plantation workers who trekked to Nkamba in search of healing.

— Rodney Muhumuza, Los Angeles Times, 10 Apr. 2026
At first this change of scale vivifies the butterfly—its brief stillness, the angle of its wings, its trembling—while freezing everything else, including the novel’s action.

— Ben Lerner, The New York Review of Books, 19 Mar. 2026