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
Liu cast an envious eye toward Trump’s ability to make the world shudder over U.S. tariffs, which he said was the result of dollar-wielding American consumers’ buying power.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 28, 2025
Just as Ekon reached them too, the vines gave a terrible shudder.
From "Beasts of Prey" by Ayana Gray
Each song shudders with youthful cockiness and desperation.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 3, 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
So, too, is the film’s music, composer Anthony Willis and soundtrack artist Charlie XCX entwining raspy strings with grimy, ominous shudders.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 11, 2026
Shona Banu still shudders when she thinks of the past few days.
From BBC ● Jun. 4, 2025
The steps protested my weight with a symphony of shudders and creaks, but they held, and what I discovered upstairs—compared to the bombed-out ground floor, at least—was like a time capsule.
From "Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children" by Ransom Riggs
Our Waymo shuddered to a stop, and we jumped out in the middle of the street.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 4, 2026
Soon after, Hipolito’s legs shuddered and buckled and his body began to shake violently.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 3, 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
And just like that, the dragon’s entire body shuddered to a stop.
From "Half Upon a Time" by James Riley
Hastings started the 1990 Grand Slam decider and made a famous, shuddering tackle on England winger Rory Underwood as Scotland triumphed 13-7 at Murrayfield.
From BBC ● May 17, 2026
In 2008, the shuddering global economy and soaring fuel prices helped push several airlines into bankruptcy.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 3, 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
Hideo is punching a bag in a furious rhythm, each impact shuddering in my view.
From "Warcross" by Marie Lu
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
