shudder
Americanverb (used without object)
-
shudders,
present (3rd person singular)
-
shuddered,
past participle, past
-
shuddering
present participle
noun
-
shudders
plural
verb
noun
Synonym Usage
See shiver 1.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
shuddersimple
-
shudderssimple
-
have shudderedperfect
-
has shudderedperfect
-
am shudderingprogressive
-
are shudderingprogressive
-
is shudderingprogressive
-
have been shudderingperfect progressive
-
has been shudderingperfect progressive
Past
-
shudderedsimple
-
had shudderedperfect
-
was shudderingprogressive
-
were shudderingprogressive
-
had been shudderingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of shudder
First recorded in 1275–1325; Middle English shodderen (verb) (cognate with German schaudern, from Low German ), frequentative of Old English scūdan “to tremble”; see -er 6
Explanation
A shudder is an involuntary vibration, usually in your body, or the shaking itself. A cold breeze or an unpleasant memory might make you shudder. A shudder isn't always a bad thing. It can mean a pleasurable sensation or tingle that goes through your body, like a shudder of excitement you feel when you see your favorite star on the street. As a verb, shudder means to shake and shiver. Being really cold or seeing something that scares you — a ghost! — can make you shudder. The phrase "shudder to think" means just the thought of something upsets you enough to shudder.
Vocabulary lists containing shudder
The Lingo of Body Language
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Talk Like Shakespeare Day, List 1
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Unit 4: Powerful Openings
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
An omen among omens: Mid-dog-walk that day, I spot a onesie that reads “Milk Drunk” and shudder at the impulse to recruit our newborns into low-key bacchanalia.
From Slate ● May 10, 2026
When he is, we shudder and wonder how the world could be so cruel.
From Salon ● Apr. 26, 2026
A 1970s-style outcome, or anything close to it, would have been enough to make anyone shudder — but especially retirees and others living on fixed or semi-fixed incomes.
From MarketWatch ● Apr. 8, 2026
She mentions utility bills in particular – if you shudder at the thought of ringing your internet provider to cancel a contract, these tactics have worked.
From BBC ● Apr. 2, 2026
The floor beneath them gave a shudder, as if it were considering starting up again.
From "The Strangers" by Margaret Peterson Haddix
The remarks sent shudders through chipmakers particularly, with the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index tumbling 5.9 percent -- its biggest drop in more than two months, according to Bloomberg.
From Barron's ● Sep. 15, 2026
Then, he satirizes conservatives’ discomfort with his Blackness by sitting silently as Martin Short, playing a nervous young Republican delivering a hackneyed diatribe, shudders in his presence before scampering offstage to fall apart.
From Salon ● Feb. 22, 2026
As a bestselling author, relationship coach Matthew Hussey shudders at the idea of using ChatGPT to write a book.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 15, 2026
One shudders to think what Border Patrol sector chief Gregory Bovino thinks is excessive for la migra.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 25, 2025
The skeletal hands explode into dust, freeing me and Cocoa as DD shrieks and shudders.
From "The Manifestor Prophecy" by Angie Thomas
The stock market shuddered Thursday after investors resumed a weekslong bond selloff that has defied the Treasury Department’s attempts to curb borrowing costs.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 20, 2026
Despite all the times I shuddered at the trailer tagline, “Believe in the Hail Mary,” over the last year, I really do.
From Salon ● Mar. 21, 2026
"Now I'm afraid of the river," he shuddered.
From Barron's ● Oct. 13, 2025
Cruz surged with joy, then shuddered at the thought of having to say goodbye again.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 28, 2025
Just then, as if on cue, the cavernous chamber’s walls shuddered.
From "The Smartest Kid in the Universe" by Chris Grabenstein
“Your own children are work enough,” they would whisper, shuddering, “just imagine putting up with someone else’s.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 14, 2026
“They think we’re these evil business owners,” she said, shuddering.
From Slate ● Mar. 25, 2026
England's 12-game winning run came to a shuddering halt with a 31-20 defeat by Scotland in Edinburgh last weekend.
From Barron's ● Feb. 17, 2026
Now, all the other NFC contenders are getting hot — Seattle, San Francisco, Philadelphia, Chicago — and the Rams are shuddering in an emotional ice bath.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 30, 2025
They passed two hundred feet away, the ground shuddering lightly.
From "The Road" by Cormac McCarthy
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
