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- shudder
shudder
I shudder to think
It is too worrying or unpleasant for me to think about something that might happen or might have happened. I shudder to think what my boss will say when I tell him I lost our biggest client.
I dread/shudder to think
something that you say when you do not want to think about something because it is too worrying or too unpleasant (usually + question word) He was going so fast - I dread to think what would have happened if my brakes hadn't worked.