What does trembled mean?
Word: Trembled
Part of Speech: Verb
Meaning: Trembled means shook slightly and could not stop, because of fear, cold, weakness or excitement.
Synonyms: shook, quivered, quaked
How do you spell trembled?
Syllables: trem - bled
Tricky part: Students drop the b (tremled) or add an extra e (trembeled). The past tense adds only a d, because the e is already there.
Watch out for: trembeled, tremled, trembld
Memory tip: Press your lips together for the b in the middle: you can feel it as you say trembled, so do not let it slip out.
Trembled in a sentence
Example 1: Her voice trembled as she read her poem to the whole school.
Example 2: The ground trembled when the long goods train thundered past.
Example 3: My hands trembled with cold as we waited for the sunrise at Tiger Hill.
Fun Fact
Tremble came into English from the French trembler, which goes back to the Latin tremere, to shake; tremor comes from the same Latin root.
Practise the CREST Way
Word Connection
Choose the synonym of the word trembled as it is used in the sentence:
The puppy trembled in the cold rain until Arjun wrapped it in his school sweater.
a) shivered
b) steadied
c) wandered
d) stretched
Show answer
a) shivered. Shivered means shook with cold, as the wet puppy did; steadied is nearly the opposite, and stretched and wandered say nothing about shaking.
Mingle-Mangle
Unjumble the letters in the sentence to form a meaningful word:
The old wooden bridge mdlertbe as the heavy truck rolled across it.
a) resembled
b) trembled
c) tumbled
d) rumbled
Show answer
b) trembled. Build tremble from the jumble, add the leftover d, and you have the word for a bridge shaking under a truck.
Spell-o-Spell
Read the four words. Choose the meaning of the misspelt word:
1. trembled 2. whisperred 3. stumbled 4. wandered
a) spoke very softly
b) walked about with no fixed plan
c) quivered, as a leaf does in the wind
d) tripped and nearly fell
Show answer
a) spoke very softly. Whisper is stressed on its first syllable, so no r is doubled: whisper + ed = whispered.
Word Cookie
Find the extra letter in the word:
tremmbled
a) e
b) m
c) b
d) l
Show answer
b) m. Tremble has one m, sitting just before the b.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. Kavya's hands trembled before her violin solo. Which feeling explains this best?
a) lazy
b) sleepy
c) bored
d) nervous
Show answer
d) nervous
2. A voice that trembled sounded ____.
a) deep
b) shaky
c) sweet
d) loud
Show answer
b) shaky
