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
- interestingly adverb
- interestingness noun
- uninteresting adjective
- uninterestingly adverb
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.
It seems like an interesting way to see what businesses actually believe about the people they’re selling things to, yes?
From Slate • Apr. 22, 2026
We will presumably never know what specific risks they identified, although it was interesting Sir Olly said they did not relate to Jeffrey Epstein.
From BBC • Apr. 21, 2026
The story became even more interesting when the team examined the snakes' physical features in more detail.
From Science Daily • Apr. 21, 2026
One of the more interesting themes Spitz develops is the symbiotic relationship between the Beatles and Stones, with the Fab Four mostly overshadowing them — until they didn’t.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 20, 2026
Daniel wasn’t looking at him, instead staring into his cup of coffee like it was the single most interesting book he’d ever read.
From "Night Owls" by A.R. Vishny
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.
