How to use shiver in a sentence

40 example sentences · verb, noun

Shiver means to tremble or shake, especially when cold or frightened. Example: “They stood outside for hours, shivering in the frosty air.”

Examples of shiver by meaning

verbTo tremble or shake, especially when cold or frightened.

They stood outside for hours, shivering in the frosty air.
The cold made me shiver.
He was shivering a little, for he had always been used to sleeping in a proper bed, and by this time his coat had worn so thin and threadbare from hugging that it was no longer any protection to him.1921 June, Margery Williams, “The Velveteen Rabbit: Or How Toys Become Real”, in Harper’s Bazar, volume LVI, number 6 (2504 overall), New...

nounThe act of shivering.

A shiver went up my spine.
But they had already discovered that he could be bullied, and they had it their own way; and presently Selwyn lay prone upon the nursery floor, impersonating a ladrone while pleasant shivers chased themselves over Drina, whom he was stalking.1907 August, Robert W[illiam] Chambers, chapter I, in The Younger Set, New York, N.Y.: D. Appleton & Company, →OCLC

verbTo break into splinters or fragments.

he found a plaster bust of Napoleon, which stood with several other works of art upon the counter, lying shivered into fragments.1904, Arthur Conan Doyle, The Adventure of the Six Napoleons, Norton, published 2005, page 1034
A whole series of fault lines radiated away from this Lisbon earthquake, all of them shivering the structures of traditional order.2010, Christopher Hitchens, Hitch-22, Atlantic, published 2011, page 183

nounA group of sharks.

A shiver of sharks.'2000, Marie Heaney, editor, Sunday Miscellany: A Selection from 1995-2000, Town House, page 22
flocks of birds and shivers of sharks2021, Christina Conklin, Marina Psaros, The Atlas of Disappearing Places: Our Coasts and Oceans in the Climate Crisis, page 100
Shivers of sharks might attack divers, and here are methods of fighting them off.2025, Georgia L. Irby, Greco-Roman Waters: A Sourcebook, Taylor & Francis

More sentences with shiver

He was shivering due to the cold temperature in the room.From the entry shivering
She shivered; twenties by the water felt different than twenties in the mountains.From the entry twenties
I have a number of body piercings that would make a nun shiver.From the entry body piercing
Hearing that the killer escaped prison sent shivers down my spine.From the entry send shivers down someone's spine
She was so cold she was shivering.From the entry cold
He nibbled at my neck and made me shiver.From the entry nibble
She shivered until she got to the cozy fireplace, where she could bask in the heat coming off it.From the entry bask
We shivered in the underheated corridor.From the entry underheat
You will see a tiny flutter, a shiver, a vibration along the luff.2026, S. Williams, Sailing Basics (Points of Sail, Trimming): Harnessing Wind, NFT Publishing. From the entry vibration
Only when Harry and Lucy began to shiver, did it occur to Vicky where they were.2023, M. W. Arnold, chapter 34, in The Lumberjills, book 1, Adams Basin, N.Y.: The Wild Rose Press, Inc., →ISBN. From the entry heckers
The wind gusted through, shivering me, so that my waterlogged brogans were like ice against my feet.2019, Ta-Nehisi Coates, The Water Dancer, Penguin Books (2020), page 65. From the entry brogan
Rain slobbered on my legs, making them slick and cold, sending shivers across my skin.2016 January 5, Brenda Drake, Thief of Lies, Entangled: Teen, →ISBN. From the entry slobber
Kneeling on snow, I'm bent over my snowgo, shivering and greasy.2015, Seth Kantner, Swallowed by the Great Land: And Other Dispatches From Alaska's Frontier, →ISBN. From the entry snowgo
Butterflies plagued Plante before a game, and shivers buzzled between his shoulder blades.2014, Stephen Smith, Puckstruck. From the entry buzzle
The young men from Hong Kong shivered in the compartment like prisoners in a dungeon.2006, Paul Theroux, Riding the Iron Rooster: By Train Through China, →ISBN, page 314. From the entry white tea
I am wearing the Mauvelous, and the shame shivers up around me like a sudden, unexpected chill.2006 October 3, Dominique Paul, The Possibility of Fireflies, New York: Simon Pulse, →ISBN, →LCCN, →OL, page 63. From the entry mauvelous
I shivered; in full face, even with glasses, he looked just like Humphrey Bogart.2006, Edgar Brau, Casablanca and Other Stories, Michigan State University Press, page 5. From the entry dyejob
Old Neil came in rednosed and shivering, his hair and beard encrusted with rime.2001, Oonagh Morrison, For promised joy, page 177. From the entry rednosed
Shivering, his hair spiky with sweat, he needs a few minutes to regain composure.1999 June 18, “Rock and a hard place”, in Alan Rusbridger, editor, The Guardian, London: Guardian News & Media, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived…. From the entry gacked
Even with his thick blanket-coat, he was soon wet through and shivering.1999, Jack Hanson, Wildgun. From the entry blanket-coat
When spring comes, the frogsicle defrosts and shivers back to life.1997, James Martin, Frogs, Crown Publishers, →ISBN, page 22. From the entry frogsicle
There was no heat, and we shivered in the belly of the plane.1994, Nelson Mandela, Long Walk to Freedom: The Autobiography of Nelson Mandela, London: Abacus, published 2010, page 454. From the entry belly
"Nay, not well," replied Catweazle shivering miserably, "I have the bone-ache."1971, Richard Carpenter, Catweazle and the Magic Zodiac, Harmondsworth: Puffin Books, page 7. From the entry sorcerer
Something about the hoot of the vessel entering the river, made George Smith shiver.1963, J P Donleavy, A Singular Man, published 1963 (USA), page 115. From the entry vernal
She shivered and a whole host of dark memories clustered round her.1954, Ian Fleming, “Allumeuse”, in Live and Let Die, London: Pan Books, published 1957, page 108. From the entry juju
Her voice caught in her throat and another violent shiver ran through her.1938, Norman Lindsay, chapter XXII, in Age of Consent, London: T[homas] Werner Laurie […], →OCLC, page 236. From the entry assiduously
Mary shivered a little, and buttoned her black sports coat closer.1920, Agatha Christie, The Mysterious Affair at Styles, London: Pan Books, published 1954, page 148. From the entry shrewishness
Behind his barricade of barrels, Sam heard and shivered like a gun-shy collie at a turkey shoot.1913, B. M. Bower, chapter 3, in The Uphill Climb. From the entry turkey shoot
A cold wind swept down from it and set us shivering.1901 August – 1902 April, A[rthur] Conan Doyle, “Baskerville Hall”, in The Hound of the Baskervilles: Another Adventure of Sherlock…. From the entry malignancy
Heather felt Lillian's breath on her cheek and tried not to visibly let the shiver go down her spine.2024 February 25, Queerious, “The Deadname Meme”, in SCP Foundation, archived from the original on 02 Sep 2024. From the entry gaydar

Meaning of shiver

verb To tremble or shake, especially when cold or frightened.
verb To cause to shake or tremble, as a sail, by steering close to the wind.
noun The act of shivering.

Full definition of shiver

Questions about shiver in a sentence

How do you use shiver in a sentence?: Shiver is used as a verb and noun. For example: “They stood outside for hours, shivering in the frosty air.”
What is a short sentence with shiver?: “A shiver of sharks.'”
What does shiver mean?: Shiver means to tremble or shake, especially when cold or frightened.

Adapted from Wiktionary: shiver (page history and authors) and the entries each sentence comes from. Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws chose the sentences, left out offensive ones and quotations older than 1900, and marked the word in each. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated: 2026-09-02

Cite this page: “How to use shiver in a sentence.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/sentences/shiver. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.