Avoid sun at first, despite shivering (8)
I believe the answer is:
sidestep
'avoid' is the definition.
(sidestepping is a kind of avoiding)
'sun at first despite shivering' is the wordplay.
'at first' says to take the initial letters.
'shivering' indicates anagramming the letters.
The initial letter of 'sun' is 's'.
'despite' anagrammed gives 'idestep'.
's'+'idestep'='SIDESTEP'
(Other definitions for sidestep that I've seen before include "Dodge - circumvent" , "Dodge (an issue?)" , "To avoid" , "Shift to right or left" , "Find a way round" .)