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
Matthew Carey, Deadline, 22 May 2025
Beside him, the boy Tommen shivered visibly, his leather jerkin inadequate against the unnatural chill that had descended with the dusk.
—Kelsey Piper, Vox, 12 May 2025
Sydney Bucksbaum, EW.com, 10 Apr. 2025
Twangy bass lines thick enough to saw down a redwood tree are shredded with shivers of electric guitar to create a blues sound that cuts a hole straight through the decades.
—David Ehrlich, IndieWire, 10 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for shiver
Noun
Our Happy Place Country: USA; Running Time: 89 Min.
Director: Paul Bickel
Raya jolts awake on the forest floor—shivering, disoriented, and alone.
—Matthew Carey, Deadline, 22 May 2025
Beside him, the boy Tommen shivered visibly, his leather jerkin inadequate against the unnatural chill that had descended with the dusk.
—Kelsey Piper, Vox, 12 May 2025
Verb
Meanwhile, Ed Sheeran will give you shivers at the same time on weekend 2.
—Sydney Bucksbaum, EW.com, 10 Apr. 2025
Twangy bass lines thick enough to saw down a redwood tree are shredded with shivers of electric guitar to create a blues sound that cuts a hole straight through the decades.
—David Ehrlich, IndieWire, 10 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for shiver
Recent Examples of Synonyms for shiver
Noun
-
At Bonniers Konsthall, with its low mechanical rhythm and amorphous forms, the sculpture breathes and shudders in a space that feels eerily alive—a shelter of desire, decay, and instability.—
Nargess Banks,
Forbes.com,
26 May 2025
-
The band enlisted the great Mike Mills to direct, with Saoirse Ronan starring as an office worker who dances, squirms, shudders, and screams through her daily routine.—
Jazz Monroe,
Pitchfork,
5 June 2025
Verb
-
Wires were seen submerged in pooling water across the floor and high winds made the floor and walls of the facility’s tents tremble, reporter video from CNN affiliate Spectrum News 13 showed.—
Devon M. Sayers,
CNN Money,
3 July 2025
-
The sound is electronic and rhythmically driven; the singing trembles with desire and confusion.—
Spencer Kornhaber,
The Atlantic,
27 June 2025
Verb
-
The experts split into teams representing the U.S. and China, and each side was armed with the weapons that its country is thought to possess.—
Dexter Filkins,
New Yorker,
14 July 2025
-
If their parents died, the sisters would split their inheritance.—
Rosalio Ahumada,
Sacbee.com,
14 July 2025
Verb
-
Chinese President Xi Jinping, left, and Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić shaking hands after signing bilateral documents during a meeting in Belgrade, Serbia, on May 8, 2024.—
Ryan Chan,
MSNBC Newsweek,
15 July 2025
-
Nikki Bella and Lola Vice were shaking their hips in the middle of the ring, and Wade Barrett encouraged Michael Cole to show them what he’s got.—
Alfred Konuwa,
Forbes.com,
14 July 2025
Verb
-
Narrow branches quivered with the arrival of house finches, gray catbirds, northern cardinals, and other species residing in Washington, DC.—
The Editors,
JSTOR Daily,
27 June 2025
-
Those emotional generators are apparent on the title track, a minimal hymn of salvation wrapped in Springsteen’s quivering voice.—
Melissa Ruggieri,
USA Today,
24 June 2025
Verb
-
By then, the city had been built and torn down more than once, leaving remnants of past communities buried under new layers.—
Irene Wright,
Miami Herald,
1 July 2025
-
This development calls for better coordination between cloud providers and the security community to detect, report, and tear down abuse infrastructure before it’s weaponized.—
Tony Bradley,
Forbes.com,
29 June 2025
Verb
-
Harper crumbled to one knee, wincing in anguish, as Phillies fans quaked with their worst possible nightmare — that their superstar first-baseman is seriously injured.—
Anthony Stitt,
Forbes.com,
28 May 2025
-
Mountains rise, volcanoes spew, and Earth itself quakes as the crust constantly remakes itself in the ceaseless cycle of plate tectonics.—
Elise Cutts,
Scientific American,
13 May 2025
Verb
-
These poisons can vaporize on hot days and be inhaled, absorbed through the skin, or even swallowed by children playing on synthetic fields.—
Dr. Philip J. Landrigan,
New York Daily News,
10 July 2025
-
That’s still chilly, but remember the greenhouse effect: there is a lot of frozen methane and carbon dioxide on Pluto, so these ices can vaporize and possibly provide enough thermal retention to make the tiny world at least somewhat comfortable, if not exactly habitable.—
Phil Plait,
Scientific American,
3 July 2025
Cite this Entry
“Shiver.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/shiver. Accessed 19 Jul. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share