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Frisson and Shiver
A chill down one’s spine isn’t always a sensation of fear or suspense. As Daniel Marenco writes, “What is most exciting about literature is how much it surprises us and makes us fall in love. Poetry especially has this gift, the gift of provoking in us a frisson, a shiver, this capacity, like a bee, to put honey on the tip of our tongue, provoking that pleasant sensation of feeling and perceiving.” His relating of frisson and shiver is apt given that frisson comes from the French word for “shiver.” (Those familiar with shivering will note that it’s also apt that frisson traces back to ultimately to Late Latin frīgēre “to be cold” or frīgēscere “to become cold.”) A frisson can be compared to a thrill or a rush, as it refers to a brief moment of emotional excitement, as in “a frisson of surprise.”
Synonyms
Examples of frisson in a Sentence
Guy Lodge, Variety, 1 Feb. 2025
And Pantera has less exposition than most heist flicks, which gives it an extra frisson of pleasant incoherence.
—Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 10 Jan. 2025
His aim is to use their technical mastery to bring a frisson of daring back to British fashion.
—Hayley Maitland, Vogue, 16 Dec. 2024
Yet, effective leaders also better understand workplace frissons and frictions, how to motivate and resolve conflict and, above all, how to deal with people.
—Robert Logemann, Forbes, 13 Dec. 2024
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Dictionary Entries Near frisson
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“Frisson.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/frisson. Accessed 13 Feb. 2025.
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