From Middle English schoderen, 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-Germanic *skudjaną, from Proto-Indo-European *skewdʰ-. From Low German are also borrowed German schaudern (“to shudder”), Danish skudre.
- (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /ˈʃʌ.də/
- (General American) IPA(key): /ˈʃʌ.ɾɚ/
Audio (US) (file)
- Homophone: shutter (accents with flapping)
- Rhymes: -ʌdə(ɹ)
- Hyphenation: shud‧der
shudder (plural shudders)
- 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.
- The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
- (intransitive) To shake nervously, often from fear or horror.
- On seeing the spider under his pillow, John shuddered.
- (intransitive) To vibrate jerkily.
- (shake nervously): palpitate, shiver, shake, quake
- (vibrate jerkily): flutter, jiggle, shake, wiggle