Adjacent Words

Shudder definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

SHUD'DER, v.i. [This word contains the same elements as the L. quatio.] To quake; to tremble or shake with fear, horror or aversion; to shiver.
I love-alas! I shudder at the name. Smith.
SHUD'DER, n. A tremor; a shaking with fear or horror.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: an almost pleasurable sensation of fright; "a frisson of surprise shot through him" [syn: frisson, shiver, chill, quiver, shudder, thrill, tingle]
2: an involuntary vibration (as if from illness or fear) [syn: tremor, shudder] v
1: shake, as from cold; "The children are shivering--turn on the heat!" [syn: shiver, shudder]
2: tremble convulsively, as from fear or excitement [syn: shudder, shiver, throb, thrill]

Merriam Webster's

I. intransitive verb (shuddered; shuddering) Etymology: Middle English shoddren; akin to Old High German skutten to shake and perhaps to Lithuanian kut?ti to shake up Date: 13th century to tremble convulsively ; shiver, quiver II. noun Date: 1607 an act of shuddering • shuddery adjective

Oxford Reference Dictionary

v. & n. --v.intr. 1 shiver esp. convulsively from fear, cold, repugnance, etc. 2 feel strong repugnance etc. (shudder to think what might happen). 3 (of a machine etc.) vibrate or quiver. --n. 1 the act or an instance of shuddering. 2 (in pl.; prec. by the) colloq. a state of shuddering. Derivatives: shudderingly adv. shuddery adj. Etymology: ME shod(d)er f. MDu. schuderen, MLG schoderen f. Gmc

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Shudder Shud"der, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Shuddered;p. pr. & vb. n. Shuddering.] [OE. shoderen, schuderen; akin to LG. schuddern, D. schudden to shake, OS. skuddian, G. schaudern to shudder, sch["u]tteln to shake, sch["u]tten to pour, to shed, OHG. scutten, scuten, to shake.] To tremble or shake with fear, horrer, or aversion; to shiver with cold; to quake. ``With shuddering horror pale.'' --Milton. The shuddering tennant of the frigid zone. --Goldsmith.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Shudder Shud"der, n. The act of shuddering, as with fear. --Shak.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(shudders, shuddering, shuddered) 1. If you shudder, you shake with fear, horror, or disgust, or because you are cold. Lloyd had urged her to eat caviar. She had shuddered at the thought... VERB: V prep/adv • Shudder is also a noun. She recoiled with a shudder. N-COUNT: usu sing 2. If something such as a machine or vehicle shudders, it shakes suddenly and violently. The train began to pull out of the station–then suddenly shuddered to a halt... The whole ship shuddered and trembled at the sudden strain. VERB: V prep/adv, V 3. If something sends a shudder or shudders through a group of people, it makes them worried or afraid. The next crisis sent a shudder of fear through the UN community... N-COUNT 4. If you say that you shudder to think what would happen in a particular situation, you mean that you expect it to be so bad that you do not really want to think about it. I shudder to think what would have happened if he hadn't acted as quickly as he did. PHRASE: V inflects, usu PHR wh [feelings]

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

I. v. n. Tremble, shake, quake, quiver, shiver. II. n. Tremor, shuddering, shaking, trembling.

Moby Thesaurus

bang, be cold, bob, bobble, boot, bounce, bump, charge, chatter, chill, convulse, convulsion, didder, disquiet, disquietude, dither, dithers, falter, fidgetiness, fidgets, flush, flutter, freeze, freeze to death, grimace, grow cold, gyrate, have a chill, have an ague, have goose pimples, heaving, horripilate, hustle, inquietude, jactitate, jar, jerk, jig, jigget, jiggle, jog, joggle, jollies, jolt, jostle, jounce, jump, kick, lift, lose heat, palpitation, panting, paroxysm, perish with cold, pitapat, pitter-patter, quake, quaking, quaver, quavering, quiver, quivering, rattle, restlessness, rictus, rush, rush of emotion, sensation, shake, shakes, shaking, shimmy, shiver, shivers, shock, spasm, surge of emotion, thrill, throb, throbbing, tic, tingle, tingling, titillation, tremble, trembling, tremor, tremor of excitement, trepidation, trepidity, twitch, twitter, unrest, vibrate, vibration, wobble