- present participle of interest.
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
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.
The flip side is the energy starvation has led to some interesting battles, known as "yo-yo racing", with cars swapping positions repeatedly over a number of laps.
From BBC ● Jul. 29, 2026
“But I would love to explore some more British accents because you know, as an island, we have some of the most interesting, unique, and fun accents,” he told Evans.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 24, 2026
The other interesting argument made by Gromen was that Chinese AI is suddenly starting to disintermediate the U.S.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 24, 2026
Next week’s Federal Reserve decision on U.S. interest rates is shaping up to be, well, interesting.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 23, 2026
It was interesting to hear about the “lemony notes” in your last letter.
From "The Detective's Assistant" by Kate Hannigan
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.
