as in to throb
to expand and contract in a rhythmic manner the heart muscle pulsates regularly to pump blood

Synonyms & Similar Words

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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 pulsate Butler’s tracks give the show a requisite ‘70s groove that pulsates beneath the tensions and triumphs of its complicated characters. Ew Staff, EW.com, 11 Dec. 2024 At its center was a circular pool filled with pulsating water; outside in the garden, a choral arrangement by Bryars and his son Yuri sounded from the trees. Dean Kissick, Harper's Magazine, 2 Dec. 2024 Looking forward, the evolving landscape of subcultures promises to keep the pulse of fashion vibrant and pulsating with fresh energies and perspectives. Fairchild Studio, WWD, 26 Nov. 2024 As well as being positioned very close to Earth’s north celestial pole, Polaris is a Cepheid variable, a star that pulsates and changes in brightness in a highly predictable way. Jamie Carter, Forbes, 22 Nov. 2024 See All Example Sentences for pulsate
Recent Examples of Synonyms for pulsate
Verb
  • My toothache throbbed all the way down my neck as my cab passed shop windows filled with fresh pasta the color of spring hay, icebergs of Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, and ladies forming tiny tortellini around their fingertips, before dropping me off at an anonymous building in the centro storico.
    Marcia DeSanctis, Travel + Leisure, 19 Feb. 2025
  • The next morning, my legs were still throbbing but guess what?
    Marla Jo Fisher, Orange County Register, 5 Feb. 2025
Verb
  • In sumptuously vibrating chords in the first movement of Schubert’s Fantasy, Olafsson’s touch was a little wetter and more muted, Wang’s percussive and as coolly etched as a polygraph.
    Zachary Woolfe, New York Times, 20 Feb. 2025
  • Even the film’s basic exposition, showing Anna working in Klaus’s household and receiving her fateful instructions from Hansen, is richly suggestive of the turmoil vibrating beneath the orderly domestic surface.
    Richard Brody, The New Yorker, 5 Feb. 2025
Verb
  • For variety, for style, for fun, Bombay Street Kitchen is still the venue to beat.
    Amy Drew Thompson, Orlando Sentinel, 7 Mar. 2025
  • While those comps are impressive, 2023 numbers were not very tough to beat.
    David Moin, WWD, 7 Mar. 2025
Verb
  • Keys rang out late as bass pulsed, with the band stretching out on the opener.
    Jim Ryan, Forbes, 26 Feb. 2025
  • The mesmerizing movement of men tossing sticks of fire on the sand and people pulsing to the beat in a haze of hookah smoke felt like a scene plucked straight from the show.
    Anna Haines, Travel + Leisure, 17 Feb. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Pulsate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pulsate. Accessed 13 Mar. 2025.

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