thriller

[thril-er]

noun

1. a person or thing that thrills.

2. an exciting, suspenseful play or story, especially a mystery story.

thriller

/ ˈθrɪlə /

noun

1. a book, film, play, etc, depicting crime, mystery, or espionage in an atmosphere of excitement and suspense

2. a person or thing that thrills

thriller

1. A suspenseful, sensational story or film: “Ken Follett writes best-selling spy thrillers.”

In Great Britain, the word thriller is sometimes used for all mystery novels: “Martha Grimes, an American, writes British-style thrillers.”

Word History and Origins

Origin of thriller¹

1885–90; 1920–25 thriller for def. 2; thrill + -er ¹

Example Sentences

The task may not have had the pressure of a five-set thriller, but given Carlos’s visibility as one of the world’s best tennis players, it was not without hazard.

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On paper, a world where one kills to work sounds like a dismal dystopian thriller.

Read more on Salon

He hopes people are embracing the thriller elements of “Task,” of course.

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“Gone Before Goodbye” is not some magpie creature patched together from shopworn thriller tropes, even if certain plot elements feel a bit much.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

The writer and director won an Oscar for Promising Young Woman in 2021, but is best known for last year's psychological thriller Saltburn, which gained cult status for a succession of provocative and confrontational scenes.

Read more on BBC

Related Words

• conundrum 
• enigma 
• problem 
• question 
• riddle 
• secrecy 
• subtlety