quaver

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Throughout the history of American music, blues, jazz and soul singers have used the jazzy quaver for the subtlest nuances of emotion: for tension, playfulness, defiance, flirtatiousness, ache or just blithe ornamentation.

From New York Times • May 10, 2024

Crucially, too, Bailey has the set of pipes that every Ariel needs and a gift for modulating her emotions through music, shifting from a rich, confident vibrato one moment to a hesitant quaver the next.

From Los Angeles Times • May 22, 2023

There was a quaver in his voice, which defined the depth of his emotion.

From Scientific American • Dec. 23, 2021

Tears sprang to my eyes again, lending a quaver to my voice.

From Slate • Aug. 24, 2019

There was a quaver to Mama’s voice that Ophie had never heard before, and she laid a calming hand on her mother’s arm.

From "Ophie's Ghosts" by Justina Ireland