I. ˈshədə(r) verb
( shuddered ; shuddered ; shuddering -d(ə)riŋ ; shudders )
Etymology: Middle English shoddren; akin to Middle Low German schodderen to shudder, Old Frisian skedda to shake, Old High German skutten to shake, Lithuanian kutėti to shake up, arouse
intransitive verb
1. : to tremble convulsively : shake with fear, horror, or aversion : shiver with cold : quake
shuddered constantly in the chill air
shudder at the thought of contamination with persons … lower in the social scale — L.C.Douglas
2. : to move as if with a shudder : quiver
a rumbling roar … the windows rattle and the floor shudders sickeningly — Michael Allen
the train slowed, shuddered, halted, the air brakes panting — Marc Brandel
transitive verb
: to cause to shudder : shake
the chill of an age-old recognition shuddered my spine — Arthur Miller
II. noun
( -s )
1. : an act or instance of shuddering : tremor
a shudder of alarm ran … through the senate house — J.A.Froude
the … shudder of the ship as her screw comes above the surface — F.A.Swinnerton
2.
a. : an involuntary tremor of the body (as from fear, horror, or cold)
shrank back with a strong shudder — Zane Grey
b. shudders plural : a fit of shuddering — usually used with the