1
as in shudder
an instance of shaking involuntarily with fear or cold
the prisoner experienced a sudden shiver when confronted with the sight of the dark basement
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
2
as in butterflies
shivers plural
a sense of panic or extreme nervousness
looking down from the window ledge sent shivers up my spine
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
1
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of shiver
Alex Ross, New Yorker, 23 June 2025
Shakespeare has Lear ask his shivering Fool, freshly aware thanks to his ordeal on the heath—a kind of exposure therapy—of the physical vulnerability of his subjects.
—Andrew Kay, Harpers Magazine, 28 May 2025
Tami Luhby, CNN Money, 19 Sep. 2025
The parents of an older girl named Sarah Summers—the very name still carries a shiver of excitement—gave me her old clothes from time to time, in washed, folded stacks that were permeated with a middle-class laundry fragrance, the smell of another world, better than my own.
—Rachel Kushner, New Yorker, 14 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for shiver
Noun
Alongside the radiant climaxes, the chorus achieves spells of shivering inwardness.
—Alex Ross, New Yorker, 23 June 2025
Shakespeare has Lear ask his shivering Fool, freshly aware thanks to his ordeal on the heath—a kind of exposure therapy—of the physical vulnerability of his subjects.
—Andrew Kay, Harpers Magazine, 28 May 2025
Verb
This year’s winter heating bills may send a shiver down many Americans’ spine.
—Tami Luhby, CNN Money, 19 Sep. 2025
The parents of an older girl named Sarah Summers—the very name still carries a shiver of excitement—gave me her old clothes from time to time, in washed, folded stacks that were permeated with a middle-class laundry fragrance, the smell of another world, better than my own.
—Rachel Kushner, New Yorker, 14 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for shiver
Recent Examples of Synonyms for shiver
Noun
-
Do not get engaged at 21 (Belly and Jeremiah again, with the tiny ring that made TikTok shudder).—
Vogue,
Vogue,
11 Sep. 2025
-
The details of this feat, performed before a crowd in downtown Phoenix, still make those with acrophobia shudder.—
Douglas C. Towne,
AZCentral.com,
5 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
Westerners call them quakers, for the way the leaves tremble in the wind, but these had no leaves on them now.—
Robert Merchant,
Outdoor Life,
1 Oct. 2025
-
The lesson isn’t that investors tremble when Fed chairs talk about stocks.—
Geoff Colvin,
Fortune,
30 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
In a rare example of agency for a beneficiary community, 21 emerging Indigenous leaders recently crafted selection criteria, evaluated applicants and picked two dozen finalists to split a pool of $720,000.—
Fortune,
Fortune,
13 Oct. 2025
-
The dying relative, Mitch explained, was willing to take the fall for Scott’s killing; then someone else would turn him in, claim the reward money, and split it with them.—
Eren Orbey,
New Yorker,
13 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
Those nerves showed themselves in the first period, as penalty trouble led to two goals from the elite Tampa Bay Lightning power play.—
Julian McKenzie,
New York Times,
10 Oct. 2025
-
The actress was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis, a central nervous system condition that damages nerves, affecting the electrical signals in the brain, in 2018.—
Lea Veloso,
StyleCaster,
10 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
With the final seconds ticking away and the Chiefs’ 30-17 triumph over the Detroit Lions sealed, KC quarterback Patrick Mahomes was looking to shake the hand of Lions safety Brian Branch.—
Blair Kerkhoff,
Kansas City Star,
13 Oct. 2025
-
Because the building was shaking.—
David Aldridge,
New York Times,
12 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
The music of home often quivers with nostalgia.—
Justin Davidson,
Vulture,
22 Sep. 2025
-
There’s a breathless mood in the air that quivers and quakes at the protests to come.—
Sara Stridsberg
September 15,
Literary Hub,
15 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
Despite the best efforts of the Los Angeles Conservancy, the Ambassador had been torn down — and among the speakers decrying the fate of the legendary institution that evening was Diane Keaton.—
Michael Schneider,
Variety,
12 Oct. 2025
-
Portobello is a true story of police power, failures of the justice system, and the power of media to create and then tear down stars or icons.—
Georg Szalai,
HollywoodReporter,
11 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
The agitated, ominous vibration of giant power lines and quaking transmission towers feels like a Greek chorus throughout Paul Greengrass’s intense new wildfire thriller, The Lost Bus.—
Bilge Ebiri,
Vulture,
6 Sep. 2025
-
The defensive star’s recent trade from Dallas to Green Bay quaked the NFL.—
Greg Cote
September 4,
Miami Herald,
4 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Shiver.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/shiver. Accessed 19 Oct. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share