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Added 9 October 2026

shudder

/ˈʃʌdə/ verb

In Latin: tremō, trepidō Wiktionary

verb Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about shudder at Wordnik → Where our words come from →

To shake nervously, often from fear or horror.
On seeing the spider under his pillow, John shuddered.
To vibrate jerkily.

noun

A shivering tremor, often from fear or horror.
Seeing the spider under his pillow gave John a shudder.
A moment of almost pleasurable fear; a frisson.

Origin

From Middle English schoderen, schuderen, possibly from Middle Dutch schudderen and/or Middle Low German schodderen, iterative forms of the verb at hand in Dutch schudden, Low German schüdden (both “to shake”), German schütten (“to pour”), from Proto-West Germanic *skuddjan, from Proto-Germanic *skudjaną, from Proto-Indo-European *skewdʰ-. From Low German are also borrowed German schaudern (“to shudder”), Danish skudre, Swedish skudda.

From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)

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