the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English
adj. Beating irregularly; -- of the heart.
WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
adj. having a slight and rapid trembling motion
Word Usage
"Whether it would have been distasteful to the feelings of the founder of that cult is another question, and, debased or not, it is at least alive and palpitating, which is more than can be said of certain other varieties."