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brivido

shiver

noun BREE-vee-doh Rare
Body & Health Senses

Also means

thrill

Usage Note

Brivido can be physical (a shiver from cold or fever: ho i brividi = I have the chills) or emotional (a thrill of excitement or fear: un brivido di paura). Avere i brividi ('to have the shivers') is the idiomatic construction — note it uses avere, not essere. The plural brividi is common; che brivido! ('what a thrill!') is a colloquial exclamation.

Examples

"Un brivido di freddo mi percorse la schiena."

Natural Translation

A shiver of cold ran down my back.

Literal Translation

A shiver of cold me ran-through the back.

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