qua·ver

verb

/ˈkweɪvə(r)/

/ˈkweɪvər/

[intransitive, transitive]

Verb Forms

present simple I / you / we / they quaver	/ˈkweɪvə(r)/ /ˈkweɪvər/
he / she / it quavers	/ˈkweɪvəz/ /ˈkweɪvərz/
past simple quavered	/ˈkweɪvəd/ /ˈkweɪvərd/
past participle quavered	/ˈkweɪvəd/ /ˈkweɪvərd/
-ing form quavering	/ˈkweɪvərɪŋ/ /ˈkweɪvərɪŋ/

(+ speech) if somebody’s voice quavers, it is unsteady, usually because the person is nervous or afraid（嗓音因紧张或害怕等）颤抖，颤动
- ‘I'm not safe here, am I?’ she asked in a quavering voice.“我在这里不安全吧？” 她用颤抖的声音问道。
Oxford Collocations Dictionary
Quaver is used with these nouns as the subject:
voice
Word Originlate Middle English (as a verb in the general sense ‘tremble’): from dialect quave ‘quake, tremble’, probably from an Old English word related to quake. The noun is first recorded (mid 16th cent.) as a musical term.

qua·ver

noun

/ˈkweɪvə(r)/

/ˈkweɪvər/

enlarge image
(British English)
(North American English eighth note)
(music) a note that lasts half as long as a crotchet八分音符Topics Musicc2
[usually singular] a shaking sound in somebody’s voice颤抖的嗓音

Word Originlate Middle English (as a verb in the general sense ‘tremble’): from dialect quave ‘quake, tremble’, probably from an Old English word related to quake. The noun is first recorded (mid 16th cent.) as a musical term.