verb

palpitate

PAL-pih-tayt/ˈpælpɪteɪt/

To beat or tremble rapidly or strongly.

The heart palpitates with a series of rapid, forceful beats.

Palpitate: simple educational illustration of an anatomical heart viewed externally, with short rhythmic motion strokes showing strong beating.

Etymology

Latin palpitare described throbbing or fluttering. That image of repeated, restless movement carries into the heartbeat sense: beating rapidly, strongly, or unevenly.

In context

Enhanced Public Domain327:47

every word that I spoke in illusion to it caused my lips to Quaver and my heart to palpitate

1800s Fiction Audiobook: Mary Shelley - Frankenstein

More examples

Her heart begins to palpitate before she steps onstage.
Too much caffeine can make my heart palpitate.
He feels his heart palpitating after the steep climb.

Forms

palpitate · palpitates · palpitated · palpitating

palpitation noun — A rapid or unusually strong heartbeat.

Similar words

throb: Suggests strong, repeated pulses, often accompanied by pain.
flutter: Suggests light, quick movements rather than forceful beating.
quiver: Emphasizes small, rapid trembling movements rather than heartbeats.