If you feel shivery, your body is making small shakes you cannot quite stop. This happens when you are cold, when you are afraid, or when you are getting ill — the kind of shake that comes with a fever. A shivery feeling can also run through you when something is creepy, like a ghost story. It is an ordinary adjective, not a rude word. People say I feel shivery more than they say a shivery person. Though actually you can also call weather or a moment shivery when it makes you want to wrap your arms around yourself. It names the feeling or the little shakes, not a big action like jumping.