thrill

Concise Oxford English Dictionary © 2008 Oxford University Press:
thrill/θrɪl/

▶noun

• 1 a sudden feeling of excitement and pleasure.

  ■ an experience that produces such a feeling.

  ■ a wave or nervous tremor of emotion or sensation.

• 2 Medicine a vibratory movement or resonance felt by placing a hand on the body.

  ■ archaic a throb or pulsation.

▶verb

• 1 have or cause to have a thrill.

• 2 (of an emotion or sensation) pass with a nervous tremor.

  ■ quiver or tremble.

– phrases
thrills and spills excitement and exhilaration.

– derivatives
thrilling adjective,
thrillingly adverb.

– origin ME (in the sense ‘pierce or penetrate’): alt. of dial. thirl ‘pierce, bore’.