frisson

Noun

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,...
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...