pulsation
noun
pul·sa·tion ˌpəl-ˈsā-shən 
1
: rhythmical throbbing or vibrating (as of an artery)
also : a single beat or throb
2
: a periodically recurring alternate increase and decrease of a quantity (such as pressure, volume, or voltage)
Synonyms
- beat
- beating
- palpitation
- pulse
- throb
See all Synonyms & Antonyms 
Example Sentences
you should press against the artery in your wrist and count the pulsations to calculate your heart rate
Recent Examples on the Web Dupree believes that the star’s interior convection cells that drive the pulsation are still reverberating from the blast and compared it to the sloshing of an unbalanced washing machine tub. 
Ashley Strickland, CNN, 12 Aug. 2022 Clitoral suction vibrators and toys, as the name suggests, are gadgets that focus solely on stimulating the clit through air technology and pulsation. Glamour, 4 Aug. 2022 It's designed with sonic pulsation technology that delivers up to 10,000 pulses per minute to help work your cleanser into clogged pores. ELLE, 28 Apr. 2022 But Frazier had come to believe that, whatever the benefits of pulsation, they were outweighed by the virtues of durability and simplicity. Joshua Rothman, The New Yorker, 1 Mar. 2021 What’s Your Pleasure?, on which the U.K. singer, known for lush ballads, turned to Paradise Garage–style pulsation. Spencer Kornhaber, The Atlantic, 23 Dec. 2020 His evidence came from Cepheids, variable stars in the nebulae that reveal their true brightness, and thus their distance, by their pulsation period—a relation discovered by Henrietta Swan Leavitt. Martin Rees, Scientific American, 18 Aug. 2020 These sound waves travel from within the star to create pulsation patterns at their surfaces. Ashley Strickland, CNN, 15 May 2020 The pulsations from this star were discovered using HiPERCAM, a revolutionary high-speed camera. Fox News, 18 Mar. 2020 See More
Ashley Strickland, CNN, 12 Aug. 2022 Clitoral suction vibrators and toys, as the name suggests, are gadgets that focus solely on stimulating the clit through air technology and pulsation. Glamour, 4 Aug. 2022 It's designed with sonic pulsation technology that delivers up to 10,000 pulses per minute to help work your cleanser into clogged pores. ELLE, 28 Apr. 2022 But Frazier had come to believe that, whatever the benefits of pulsation, they were outweighed by the virtues of durability and simplicity. Joshua Rothman, The New Yorker, 1 Mar. 2021 What’s Your Pleasure?, on which the U.K. singer, known for lush ballads, turned to Paradise Garage–style pulsation. Spencer Kornhaber, The Atlantic, 23 Dec. 2020 His evidence came from Cepheids, variable stars in the nebulae that reveal their true brightness, and thus their distance, by their pulsation period—a relation discovered by Henrietta Swan Leavitt. Martin Rees, Scientific American, 18 Aug. 2020 These sound waves travel from within the star to create pulsation patterns at their surfaces. Ashley Strickland, CNN, 15 May 2020 The pulsations from this star were discovered using HiPERCAM, a revolutionary high-speed camera. Fox News, 18 Mar. 2020 See More Word History
Etymology
Middle English pulsacioun, borrowed from Medieval Latin pulsātiōn-, pulsātiō, going back to Latin, "repeated striking, knocking (on a door)," from pulsāre "to strike with repeated blows, beat, (in passive) beat wildly (of the heart)" + -tiōn-, -tiō, suffix of verbal action — more at pulsate
First Known Use
15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1
Medical Definition
pulsation
noun
pul·sa·tion ˌpəl-ˈsā-shən
1
: rhythmic throbbing or vibrating (as of an artery)
also : a single beat or throb
2
: a periodically recurring alternate increase and decrease of a quantity (as pressure, volume, or voltage)
pulsation
noun
as in pulse
a rhythmic expanding and contracting you should press against the artery in your wrist and count the pulsations to calculate your heart rate Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
- pulse
- throb
- beating
- palpitation
- vibration
- tremor
- oscillation
- beat
- fluctuation
- tremble
- quiver