quake 1 of 2

noun

Definition of quakenext
as in earthquake
a shaking of the earth the quake registered 6.5 on the Richter scale, causing widespread damage

Synonyms & Similar Words

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quake

2 of 2

verb

ˈkwāk How to pronounce quake (audio)
as in to shake
to make a series of small irregular or violent movements the horror film was so scary it left us quaking with fear for hours afterwards

Synonyms & Similar Words

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 quake
Noun
For 13 years, the high-precision instrument had been bolted to a rocky outcrop in the hills of western Venezuela, quietly tracking the millimeter-scale movements of the Boconó fault, which was the likely source of the first of the two quakes. — David A. Graham, The Atlantic, 16 Sep. 2026 The likelihood increased on different fault lines because more time has passed without a major quake since the last study was conducted more than a decade ago. — ABC News, 3 Sep. 2026
Verb
Rock big enough to quake an indoor stadium. — Brendan Hay, SPIN, 13 Apr. 2026 By 2020, another part of the island nation, the Reykjanes Peninsula, had begun to quake. — Quanta Magazine, 27 Mar. 2026 See All Example Sentences for quake
Recent Examples of Synonyms for quake
  1. earthquake
  2. shake
  3. tremor
  4. shudder
  5. jerk
  6. tremble
  7. vibrate
  8. quiver
Noun
  • The earthquake's epicenter was approximately 10 miles east-northeast of Willows and occurred at a depth of 13 miles.
    — CA Earthquake Bot, Sacbee.com, 2 Oct. 2026
  • By 1926, Caltech was running the Seismo Lab with the Carnegie Institution, where seismologists like Beno Gutenberg and Charles Richter would deepen our understanding of earthquakes.
    — Danny Robb, JSTOR Daily, 25 Sep. 2026
Definition of earthquake
Verb
  • The event, televised by dozens of channels across Serbia, capped a week of Vucic touring towns and villages in an apparent bid to shore up his popularity that's been shaken after almost two years of sustained anti-government protests.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 3 Oct. 2026
  • Bottle tops popped, can tabs cracked, and cocktail shakers shook all day Thursday at the Aftershock music festival at Sacramento’s Discovery Park.
    — Sacbee.com, Sacbee.com, 3 Oct. 2026
Definition of shake
Noun
  • Fewer than a dozen people from as far away as Walnut Creek and Stockton immediately reported feeling the tremor to the agency.
    — Don Sweeney, Sacbee.com, 27 Sep. 2026
  • The disease is marked by symptoms including tremor, stiffness, slow movement, gait and balance problems.
    — Deborah Day, Los Angeles Times, 23 Sep. 2026
Definition of tremor
Verb
  • Conservatives shuddered to think how close the country had come to permanent entangling alliances.
    — Beverly Gage, New Yorker, 28 Sep. 2026
  • McDonald’s shares fell nearly 5% Wednesday, their largest percentage drop since April 2025, as investors shuddered at the eye-popping price of improving McDonald’s 46,000 global stores.
    — Dee-Ann Durbin, Los Angeles Times, 24 Sep. 2026
Definition of shudder
Verb
  • During the test, Linton jerked and twitched in what prosecutors described as an attempt to fake a seizure.
    — James Queally, Los Angeles Times, 2 Oct. 2026
  • And like any great sitcom, Friends runs the gamut from numbing brain-rot to tear-jerking sentimentality.
    — Mack DeGeurin, Popular Science, 9 Sep. 2026
Definition of jerk
Verb
  • But now, the occupation seems to tremble before Palestinian children holding paper and string.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 11 Sep. 2026
  • Those afflicted would tremble and jerk around, lose the ability to stand or swallow, and, after many months of slow suffering, die.
    — David Remnick, New Yorker, 17 Aug. 2026
Definition of tremble
Verb
  • This is an album full of stars, storms, and horizons, the depths of visible color vibrating in invisible air.
    — Sasha Geffen, Pitchfork, 8 Oct. 2026
  • This thermal burst causes nearby atoms to vibrate randomly before the lattice settles down again.
    — Aman Tripathi, Interesting Engineering, 7 Oct. 2026
Definition of vibrate
Verb
  • Every once in a while, when there was a pause, my eyes started to water and my body quivered and shook a little bit.
    — Peter Wilkinson, Rolling Stone, 11 Sep. 2026
  • But because Sara is indeed only 17, wisdom is tempered by a quivering vulnerability as the reality of her pregnancy presses upon her, body and soul, forcing her to open up to Lina and discover the possibility of solidarity.
    — Beatrice Loayza, Variety, 30 Aug. 2026
Definition of quiver

Browse Nearby Words

quais
quake
quaked
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Cite this Entry

“Quake.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/quake. Accessed 9 Oct. 2026.

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