- 1
Tremulous describes something that shakes with small, quick movements — usually because the person is nervous, , weak, or holding back tears. It is used most often of a voice or a hand: 'a tremulous voice' is one that wobbles in a way the speaker cannot control, and everyone listening can hear the feeling behind it. It can also describe a smile that will not hold steady, or, more poetically, light on water or leaves moving in a breeze. The word carries a second layer beyond the physical shaking: it suggests the person is uncertain and easily upset, so 'tremulous hope' means hope that is real but fragile, ready to collapse. It belongs to writing more than to speech — you meet it in novels and careful journalism, and a student will sound using it in conversation. In everyday talk people say 'shaky' or 'his voice was shaking'.
顫抖的、發抖的 (多指緊張、害怕或虛弱時聲音或手的細微抖動)；也可指「怯生生的、沒把握的」。偏書面語，日常口語說 shaky 就好
組成From Latin tremulus, from the verb tremō, 'to tremble, shake', plus the ending -ulus meaning 'somewhat, a little'. So the whole word says 'slightly shaking'.
同家族的字
- tremblesame Latin root tremere — to shake
- tremora doublet of tremulous: the same root arriving in English by a different path
- tremendousfrom the same root — originally 'so great it makes you tremble'
原始詞典資料2 筆記錄
以下是外部詞典記錄的用法，原文照列，我們還沒有寫成教學內容。上面的說明才是我們自己寫的；有些用法可能上面已經講過了。
tremulousadj/ˈtɹɛmjʊləs/
- 1
Trembling, quivering, or shaking.
- Tremulous on the bladed graſs ſhone bright the pearly drops, like an aſſembly of ſparkling ſtars dancing on the plains of the zodiac; vocal was every bending ſpray, every reed was inſpired, each warbling throat ſeemed to emulate the melodious voice of the bird of a thouſand ſongs.
- From the high tree the blossom wavering fell, / And over them the tremulous isles of light / Slided, they moving under shade: […]
- 2
Timid, hesitant; lacking confidence.
- In the mean time I worked on, and my labour was already considerably advanced. I looked towards its completion with a tremulous and eager hope, which I dared not trust myself to question, but which was intermixed with obscure forebodings of evil, that made my heart sicken in my bosom.
- “You have lived here long?” Felix asked, with tremulous interest, as he took a seat on the bench under the big tree, towards which his new host politely motioned him.
資料來源：英文維基詞典 English Wiktionary（CC BY-SA 4.0）。 原文照列，未經改寫。