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:
He’s now a professor of modern history at the University of St. Andrews, the sort of place that might send a shudder down the fellowship at his former abode.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 30, 2026
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
Millions with so-called straight jobs shudder at their steady devaluation in the face of artificial intelligence.
From Salon ● May 4, 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
My friends, this is much; it is a terrible task that we undertake, and there may be consequence to make the brave shudder.
From "Dracula" by Bram Stoker
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
Dame Uta shudders when I mention the idea: "Agh! Such a vague notion."
From BBC ● Aug. 21, 2026
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
I hold both hands to my chest, and my next breath shudders on the way out.
From "Divergent" by Veronica Roth
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
But when the piece was published, I shuddered at the headline: “Beyonce’s ‘Break My Soul’ just broke the internet and — hell yeah — is a Pride Month dance bop.”
From Salon ● Jun. 18, 2026
"Now I'm afraid of the river," he shuddered.
From Barron's ● Oct. 13, 2025
A couple of weeks later, the Lakers hired Redick, and most of the basketball world shuddered.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 12, 2025
Branches snapped beneath his paws, brambles and leaves shuddered all around him.
From "The Undead Fox of Deadwood Forest" by Aubrey Hartman
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
Villa's 11-game winning streak in all competitions was brought to a shuddering halt with a 4-1 defeat at the Emirates Stadium on Tuesday, raising doubts about their ability to maintain a title charge.
From Barron's ● Jan. 3, 2026
It came with a shuddering reminder of the kind of things that Russell Martin used to say when he was manager of Rangers.
From BBC ● Dec. 14, 2025
I dropped the towel in my lap, shuddering violently.
From "The City Beautiful" by Aden Polydoros
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.
