frisson

plural frissons

1. A sudden surge of excitement.

   I felt a frisson just as they were about to announce the winner in my category.

   1 more example

   As a perversion of freedom it was, like any perversion, erotic; as alienation it carried the frisson of having just missed the brass ring, a sensation that always brought one back for more.

   1989, Greil Marcus, Lipstick Traces, Faber & Faber, published 2009

2. A shiver; a thrill.

   Whenever the villain's theme played in the movie I felt a sudden frisson down my back.

   1 more example

   All the Crichton books depend to a certain extent on a little frisson of fear and suspense: that’s what kept you turning the pages.

   2008 November 5, Charles McGrath, “Builder of Windup Realms That Thrillingly Run Amok”, in The New York Times, →ISSN