thrilling
Americanadjective
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producing sudden, strong, and deep emotion or excitement.
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producing a tremor, as by chilling.
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vibrating; trembling; quivering.
adjective
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very exciting or stimulating
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vibrating or trembling
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of thrilling
Explanation
When something is thrilling, it makes you feel excited or exhilarated. Roller coasters are thrilling for some people—other people just find them nauseating. If your heart is beating fast and you feel absolutely elated, something thrilling is happening. Some of us find it thrilling to speak in front of a crowd or to dive into a cold lake. It's also thrilling to see your favorite movie star in person or to get a poem published in a magazine. The adjective thrilling comes from the verb thrill, which originally meant "pierce," and later "give a shivering excitement" or "pierce with emotion."
Vocabulary lists containing thrilling
List 1
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Amazing, List 1
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
This was one of the most historic, thrilling comebacks in sports I’ve ever had the pleasure of seeing.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 13, 2026
Whether that game is thrilling or boring, and no matter who wins, the focus will be on spectacle, showmanship and soccer, in roughly that order.
From Salon • Jun. 11, 2026
Eastwood plays the spoon-wielding lead in this thrilling jailbreak saga based on the infamous real-life escape from the Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary in 1962.
From Slate • Jun. 11, 2026
And the shares seem to trade higher with each subsequent night of Jalen Brunson heroics—they rose 2% to a fresh record last Thursday following the Knicks’ thrilling Game 1 win.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 8, 2026
"Ought to ferret out the mystery before we go. Whole thing's like a detective story. Positively thrilling."
From "And Then There Were None" by Agatha Christie
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
