: a brief moment of emotional excitement : shudder, thrill
produce a genuine frisson of disquiet Patricia Craig
a frisson of surprise
a frisson of delight
Did you know?
Frisson and Shiver
"I feel a shiver that's not from the cold as the band and the crowd go charging through the final notes.... That frisson, that exultant moment...." That's how writer Robert W. Stock characterized the culmination of a big piece at a concert in 1982. His use of the word shiver is apt given that frisson comes from the French word for "shiver." Frisson traces to Old French friçon, which in turn derives from frictio, Latin for "friction." What does friction—normally a heat generator—have to do with thrills and chills? Nothing, actually. The association came about because frictio (which derives from Latin fricare, meaning "to rub") was once mistakenly taken to be a derivative of frigēre, which means "to be cold."
those two are still caught up in the giddy frisson of a new romance
Recent Examples on the WebUnfortunately, Bizzarrini’s frisson of success only lasted until 1969, when the brand folded. Basem Wasef, Robb Report, 8 Aug. 2022 Weed, cocaine, and champagne — along with a thick frisson of tension — have long ago entered the chat when someone suggests a round of Bodies Bodies Bodies, a Mafia-meets-Sardines murder game. Leah Greenblatt, EW.com, 12 Aug. 2022 Even students goofing off in the back should catch on that Neil is still enchanted by the frisson of deification that sometimes descends from heaven into a classroom. Ron Charles, Washington Post, 9 Aug. 2022 Powerful editors still exhibited outsized power and a frisson of awe, even excitement, still attached itself to the scary, tyrannical, artistic boss. Chris Jones, Chicago Tribune, 12 July 2022 The frisson lies in the touches: duck wings instead of chicken, served jerk-style with cilantro pesto; a za’atar crust for the rack of lamb; harissa glaze on a Kurobuta pork chop special. Globe Staff, BostonGlobe.com, 23 June 2022 There was a frisson of excitement as the veteran journalist, a household name across the Arab world for her coverage of Israel and the Palestinian territories, arrived to report on the raid.CNN, 24 May 2022 Indeed, there’s virtually no erotic frisson in Patel’s retelling of an epic that is aglow with passion.Washington Post, 26 Apr. 2022 If what are meant to be the eerie parts of the story do not deliver much of a frisson, the more human interactions do create a nice glow. Robert Lloyd, Los Angeles Times, 28 Apr. 2022 See More
Word History
Etymology
French, shiver, from Old French friçon, from Late Latin friction-, frictio, from Latin, literally, friction (taken in Late Latin as derivative of frigēre to be cold)