Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • intransitive verb To shiver convulsively, as from fear or revulsion. synonym: shake.
  • intransitive verb To vibrate; quiver.
  • noun A convulsive shiver, as from fear or revulsion.
  • noun A vibration or trembling motion.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • To shake; quiver; vibrate.
  • Hence, in particular, to tremble with a sudden convulsive movement, as from horror, fright, aversion, cold, etc.; shiver; quake.
  • To have a tremulous or quivering appearance, as if from horror.
  • Synonyms Quake, etc. See shiver.
  • noun A tremulous motion; a quiver; a vibration.
  • noun Specifically, a quick involuntary tremor or quiver of the body, as from fear, disgust, horror, or cold; a convulsive shiver.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • intransitive verb To tremble or shake with fear, horrer, or aversion; to shiver with cold; to quake.
  • noun The act of shuddering, as with fear.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun A shivering tremor.
  • noun A moment of almost pleasurable fear; a frisson.
  • verb intransitive To shake nervously, as if from fear.
  • verb intransitive To vibrate jerkily.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun an almost pleasurable sensation of fright
  • verb tremble convulsively, as from fear or excitement
  • verb shake, as from cold
  • noun an involuntary vibration (as if from illness or fear)

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Middle English shodderen, perhaps of Middle Dutch or Middle Low German origin.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

Either from Middle Dutch schudderen or from Middle Low German schoderen (whence also Danish skudre). Cognate with Dutch schudden and German schaudern.

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