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ENGLISH · A WORD WITH POSSIBILITIES

pulsate.

To expand and contract rhythmically; to throb or to beat, exhibit a pulse.

7 characters2 syllables approx.English language

Meaning & usage

verb/pʌlˈseɪt/UK/ˈpʌl.seɪt/UK, obsolete/ˈpʌl.seɪt/US
  1. To expand and contract rhythmically; to throb or to beat, exhibit a pulse.

    intransitive
  2. To quiver, vibrate, or flash; as to the beat of music.

    intransitive
    The party pulsated with revellers.
  3. To pulse, to be full of life, energy: to bustle, thrive, flourish.

    figuratively · intransitive
  4. To produce a recurring increase and decrease of some quantity.

    transitive
Where this word comes from

Perhaps formed within English as a back-formation from pulsation (attested from the early 15th century, in Middle English). A figurative derivation from New Latin pulsō, pulsātum (“(of an organ) to pulse, to emit a pulse”, intransitive) is also possible, itself a back-formation of New Latin pulsātiō (“pulsation”, 14th century), or derived from classical Latin pulsō (“to strike repeatedly”, transitive) with semantic influence from classical pulsus (“a pulse”). Ultimately from Latin pellō (“to strike”). By surface analysis, pulse + -ate (verb-forming suffix). Doublet of push.

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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.

Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.