frisson
nounUK /ˈfɹiː.sɔ̃ː/ · US /fɹiˈsoʊn/
Etymology Borrowed from French frisson.
1
A sudden surge of excitement.
- I felt a frisson just as they were about to announce the winner in my category.
- As a perversion of freedom it was, like any perversion, erotic; as alienation it carried the frisson of having just missed the brass ring, a sensation that always brought one back for more.1989, Greil Marcus, Lipstick Traces, Faber & Faber, published 2009:
2
A shiver; a thrill.
- Whenever the villain's theme played in the movie I felt a sudden frisson down my back.
- All the Crichton books depend to a certain extent on a little frisson of fear and suspense: that’s what kept you turning the pages.2008 November 5, Charles McGrath, “Builder of Windup Realms That Thrillingly Run Amok”, in The New York Times, →ISSN: