Meanings
present singular third person vibrates · participle present vibrating · participle past vibrated · past vibrated
- intransitiveTo shake with small, rapid movements to and fro.
The tender roared along vibrating vigorously; braking had resulted in "flats" on most of its tyres.
1951 October, R. S. McNaught, “Lines of Approach”, in Railway Magazine, page 7061 more example
When "God save the King!" resounded meow meow through the stately abbey, the banners vibrating with the mighty music, I felt quite enthusiastic in my loyalty.
1837, L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], “The Coronation”, in Ethel Churchill: Or, The Two Brides. […], volume II, London: Henry Colburn, […], →OCLC, page 5Synonyms: thrill
- transitiveTo mark or measure by moving to and fro.
a pendulum vibrating seconds
- transitiveTo affect with vibratory motion; to set in vibration.
Star to star vibrates light: may soul to soul / Strike thro' a finer element of her own?
1864, Alfred Tennyson, “Aylmer’s Field”, in Enoch Arden, &c., London: Edward Moxon & Co., […], →OCLC, page 811 more example
Breath vocalized, i.e., vibrated or undulated, may […] impress a swift, tremulous motion.
1669, William Holder, Elements of Speech: An Essay of Inquiry into the Natural Production of Letters: […], London: […] T. N[ewcomb] for J[ohn] Martyn printer to the R[oyal] Society, […], →OCLC - datedslangtransitiveTo please or impress someone.
And if he wants to give you high praise, he'll answer, "That vibrates me"; "That has a large charge"; or "That's oogley."
1949, Ladies' Home Journal, volume 66, page 1151 more example
[…] standing side by side under a Grecian column, tapping their feet in unison and saying such things as "Hot-diggety,” “Razz-ma-tazz," “That vibrates me," and other expressions of praise current in their youth.
1961, Congressional Record - intransitiveentertainmentTo use vibrato.
- slangtransitiveTo pleasure someone using a vibrator.
Downstairs in the living-room Jill Was vibrating herself for a thrill.
1999 March 27, PeterW, “Jack with Jill”, in alt.jokes.limericks (Usenet)
- uncountableThe setting, on a portable electronic device, that causes it to vibrate rather than sound any (or most) needed alarms.
Please put your cellphones on vibrate for the duration of the meeting.
Synonyms: vibrate mode
comparative more vibrate · superlative most vibrate
- rareVibrating with (something).
Synonyms & antonyms
verbTo shake with small, rapid movements to and fro.
nounThe setting, on a portable electronic device, that causes it to vibrate rather than sound any (or most) needed alarms.
More synonyms by meaning
verbbe undecided about something; waver between conflicting positions or courses of action
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Proto-Indo-European*weyp-“to oscillate, swing”
- Latinvibrātus
- Middle Englishvibrat(e)“reverberant”
- Englishvibrate
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-.
More words from Middle English, Latin, Proto-Indo-European
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Basque dardaratu
- dardaratuto move with small movements rapidly
Bulgarian трептя, вибрирам
- трептя (treptja)to move with small movements rapidly
- вибрирам (vibriram)to move with small movements rapidly
- резонирам (rezoniram)to resonate
- размахвам (razmahvam)to brandish; to swing to and fro
- вибрация (vibracija)setting
Catalan vibrar
- vibrarto move with small movements rapidly
Dutch trillen
- trillento move with small movements rapidly
Esperanto vibri
- vibrito move with small movements rapidly
Finnish värähdellä, väristä
- värähdelläto move with small movements rapidly
- väristäto move with small movements rapidly
- täristäto move with small movements rapidly
- väristäto resonate
- värähdelläto resonate
- heiluttaato brandish; to swing to and fro
- heilutellato brandish; to swing to and fro
- väristääto set in vibration
- värisyttääto set in vibration
- värinähälytyssetting
- värinätoimintosetting
French vibrer
- vibrerto move with small movements rapidly
German vibrieren, Vibration
- vibrierento move with small movements rapidly
- Vibrationsetting
Hungarian vibrál
- vibrálto move with small movements rapidly
Italian vibrare
- vibrareto move with small movements rapidly
Japanese 震う, 震わせる
- 震うto move with small movements rapidly
- 震わせるto move with small movements rapidly
- 響くto resonate
- 震わせるto set in vibration
Latin vibrō
- vibrōto move with small movements rapidly
Māori neneke, tōiri
- neneketo move with small movements rapidly
- tōirito move with small movements rapidly
- tōiriirito move with small movements rapidly
Norwegian vibrere
- vibrereto move with small movements rapidly
Polish wibrować, drgać
- wibrowaćto move with small movements rapidly
- drgaćto move with small movements rapidly
- rezonowaćto resonate
Portuguese vibrar
- vibrarto move with small movements rapidly
Romanian vibra, vibrare
- vibrato move with small movements rapidly
- vibraresetting
Russian вибри́ровать
- вибри́ровать (vibrírovatʹ)to move with small movements rapidly
Spanish vibrar
- vibrarto move with small movements rapidly
Tamil அதிர்
- அதிர் (atir)to move with small movements rapidly
Vietnamese rung, rung động
- rungto move with small movements rapidly
- rung độngto move with small movements rapidly
- rung cảmto resonate
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with vibrate
Anagrams
Cite this entry
vibrate. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/vibrate
“vibrate.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/vibrate. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “vibrate,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/vibrate.
Source: vibrate on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.