frisson

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.

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.