interesting
Americanadjective
-
engaging or exciting and holding the attention or curiosity.
an interesting book.
- Synonyms:
- entertaining, absorbing
- Antonyms:
- dull
-
arousing a feeling of interest.
an interesting face.
idioms
adjective
Usage
What are other ways to say interesting? A person or a thing that is interesting arouses a feeling of curiosity or concern, or is engaging and exciting. But interesting isn’t quite the same as pleasing or gratifying. Find out why on Thesaurus.com.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of interesting
Explanation
When you're giving a speech, you probably hope that your audience is gazing at you in fascination because what you're saying is so interesting, and not because you've got something weird on your face. The adjective interesting describes something that makes you curious, or catches your attention, but sometimes people use the word in a doubtful way when they are taken aback but want to be polite. Like if your grandmother looks at your new tattoo and says, "Well, that's certainly interesting!" Chances are she's not actually feeling very enthusiastic about your choice of body art.
Vocabulary lists containing interesting
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 opens the door for small satellites to do even more science, more observations, and more interesting missions, all on a smaller and cheaper platform."
From Science Daily • Jun. 10, 2026
He will be getting married on 11 July which potentially could be an England quarter final game and "combining the two could be interesting," he says.
From BBC • Jun. 9, 2026
It’s salty, bright, herbaceous and just spicy enough to keep things interesting.
From Salon • Jun. 9, 2026
The first interesting finding: All our studied sectors do far better when the Fed is raising interest rates or keeping them flat, as opposed to decreasing them.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 9, 2026
Nowadays, of course, people are accustomed to paintings of sheep that look nothing like actual sheep, but simply content themselves with being paintings, full of color and lines and interesting shapes.
From "The Interrupted Tale" by Maryrose Wood
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.
