Meanings
present singular third person shudders · participle present shuddering · participle past shuddered · past shuddered
- intransitiveTo shake nervously, often from fear or horror.
On seeing the spider under his pillow, John shuddered.
2 more examples
VVreath'd vp in fatall folds iuſt in his way, / The feare where of doth make him ſhake, & ſhudder, […]
1594, [William Shakespeare], Venus and Adonis, 2nd edition, London: […] Richard Field, […], →OCLC, signature Fiij, verso, lines [879–880]What makes me shudder so? / I shudder and I sigh to think / That even Cicero / And many-minded Homer were / Mad as the mist and snow.
1929, William Butler Yeats, Mad as the Mist and Snow
plural shudders
- A moment of almost pleasurable fear; a frisson.
They name thee before me, / A knell to mine ear; / A shudder comes o'er me— / Why wert thou so dear?
c. 1816, Lord Byron, When we Two parted1 more example
… and was not that slight tremble, a shudder which went through her young body, when his kiss, glowing and scorching with his wild passion, had dared to touch her tiny ice-cold hand?
1906 January, Baroness Orczy [i.e., Emma Orczy], chapter 22, in A Son of the People: A Romance of the Hungarian Plains, London: Greening & Co., →OCLC
Synonyms & antonyms
More synonyms by meaning
nounan almost pleasurable sensation of fright
nounan involuntary vibration (as if from illness or fear)
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Proto-West Germanic*skudrōn“to shake, tremble”
- Old English*sċudrian
- Proto-Indo-European*skewdʰ-
- Proto-Germanic*skudjaną
- Proto-West Germanic*skuddjan
- Middle Low Germanschodderen
- Middle Dutchschudderen
- Middle Englishschoderen
- Englishshudder
From Middle English schoderen, schuderen, possibly from Middle Dutch schudderen and/or Middle Low German schodderen, iterative forms of the verb at hand in Dutch schudden, Low German schüdden (both “to shake”), German schütten (“to pour”), from Proto-West Germanic *skuddjan, from Proto-Germanic *skudjaną, from Proto-Indo-European *skewdʰ-. From Low German are also borrowed German schaudern (“to shudder”), Danish skudre, Swedish skudda. Alternatively, possibly from an unrecorded Old English *sċudrian, an iterative variant to Old English sċūdan (“to shudder, quake”), from Proto-West Germanic *skudrōn (“to shake, tremble”), from the same source as the Middle Dutch and Middle Low German terms above.
More words from Middle English, Middle Dutch, Middle Low German
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Ancient Greek φρίσσω, ῥιγέω
- φρίσσω (phríssō)to shake nervously, as if from fear
- ῥιγέω (rhigéō)to shake nervously, as if from fear
- φρίκη (phríkē)shivering tremor
- φρικασμός (phrikasmós)shivering tremor
Bulgarian изтръпвам, потръпвам
- изтръпвам (iztrăpvam)to vibrate jerkily
- потръпвам (potrăpvam)to vibrate jerkily
- треперене (treperene)shivering tremor
- потръпване (potrăpvane)shivering tremor
Catalan estremir-se
- estremir-seto shake nervously, as if from fear
Chinese Mandarin 戰慄 /战栗 or 戰栗 /战栗, 觳觫
- 戰慄 /战栗 or 戰栗 /战栗 (zhànlì)shivering tremor
- 觳觫 (húsù)shivering tremor
Czech třást se, třást se
- třást seto shake nervously, as if from fear
- třást seto vibrate jerkily
- třesotshivering tremor
- třesshivering tremor
- třesavkashivering tremor
- zachvění n semoment of almost pleasurable fear; a frisson
Dutch huiveren, rilling
- huiverento shake nervously, as if from fear
- rillingshivering tremor
Esperanto ektremi
- ektremito shake nervously, as if from fear
Finnish väristä, vavista
- väristäto shake nervously, as if from fear
- vavistato shake nervously, as if from fear
- tutistato shake nervously, as if from fear
- puistattaato shake nervously, as if from fear
- väristäto vibrate jerkily
- vavistato vibrate jerkily
- tutistato vibrate jerkily
- väristysshivering tremor
- vapinashivering tremor
- tutinashivering tremor
- puistatusshivering tremor
- väristysmoment of almost pleasurable fear; a frisson
French frissonner, trembler
- frissonnerto shake nervously, as if from fear
- tremblerto shake nervously, as if from fear
- frissonnerto vibrate jerkily
- tremblerto vibrate jerkily
- tremblementshivering tremor
- frissonshivering tremor
- frissonmoment of almost pleasurable fear; a frisson
German schaudern, zittern
- schaudernto shake nervously, as if from fear
- zitternto vibrate jerkily
- Schaudershivering tremor
- (wohliger) Schaudermoment of almost pleasurable fear; a frisson
Hebrew הִתְפַּלֵּץ
- הִתְפַּלֵּץ (hitpalétz)to shake nervously, as if from fear
Hindi सिहरन, कँपकँपी
- सिहरन (sihran)shivering tremor
- कँपकँपी (kãpkãpī)shivering tremor
Icelandic skjálfa, hrylla við
- skjálfato shake nervously, as if from fear
- hrylla viðto shake nervously, as if from fear
- skjálfato vibrate jerkily
- hrylla viðto vibrate jerkily
- hrollurshivering tremor
- skjálftishivering tremor
- hrollurmoment of almost pleasurable fear; a frisson
Italian tremare, brivido
- tremareto shake nervously, as if from fear
- brividoshivering tremor
- sussultoshivering tremor
- tremolioshivering tremor
Latin tremō, trepidō
- tremōto shake nervously, as if from fear
- trepidōto shake nervously, as if from fear
Māori oi, winiwini
- oito shake nervously, as if from fear
- winiwinito shake nervously, as if from fear
- hihikiwito shake nervously, as if from fear
- hāwiniwinito shake nervously, as if from fear
- wiwinito shake nervously, as if from fear
- ihiihito shake nervously, as if from fear
- oioito vibrate jerkily
- ngaterito vibrate jerkily
- māueueto vibrate jerkily
- ngatarishivering tremor
- ngaterishivering tremor
- oingamoment of almost pleasurable fear; a frisson
Persian چندش
- چندش (čendeš)shivering tremor
Polish wzdrygać się, wzdrygnąć się
- wzdrygać sięto shake nervously, as if from fear
- wzdrygnąć sięto shake nervously, as if from fear
Portuguese tremer, tiritar
- tremerto shake nervously, as if from fear
- tiritarto shake nervously, as if from fear
- arrepioshivering tremor
- calafrioshivering tremor
Romanian tremura, tremura
- tremurato shake nervously, as if from fear
- tremurato vibrate jerkily
- vibrato vibrate jerkily
- tremurshivering tremor
- fiorishivering tremor
- fiormoment of almost pleasurable fear; a frisson
Russian содрога́ться, дрожа́ть
- содрога́ться (sodrogátʹsja)to shake nervously, as if from fear
- дрожа́ть (drožátʹ)to shake nervously, as if from fear
- содрога́ние (sodrogánije)shivering tremor
- дрожь (drožʹ)shivering tremor
Scottish Gaelic plosg, crith
- plosgto shake nervously, as if from fear
- crithto shake nervously, as if from fear
- plosgto vibrate jerkily
- crithto vibrate jerkily
- crithshivering tremor
Spanish temblar, escalofrío
- temblarto shake nervously, as if from fear
- escalofríoshivering tremor
Swedish rysa
- rysato shake nervously, as if from fear
Ukrainian здрига́тися, здрига́ння
- здрига́тися (zdryhátysja)to shake nervously, as if from fear
- здрига́ння (zdryhánnja)shivering tremor
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with shudder
All rhymes →Sounds the same
Cite this entry
shudder. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/shudder
“shudder.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/shudder. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “shudder,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/shudder.
Source: shudder on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.