- present participle of intrigue.
intriguing
Britishadjective
Other Word Forms
Explanation
Intriguing things or people arouse curiosity and have an indescribable draw. If you find the night sky intriguing and enjoy pondering the limitlessness of the universe, you should consider becoming an astronomer. When this adjective was first recorded in the 1600’s, anything intriguing had something to do with “tricking, deceiving, or cheating.” It wasn't until much later that intriguing lost its sinister sense and became simply a word to describe something with alluring mystery. Synonyms for intriguing run the gamut from captivating and delightful to riveting and titillating.
Vocabulary lists containing intriguing
Walk Two Moons
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12 More Interesting Ways to Say "interesting"
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Pay Attention! Synonyms for "Interesting"
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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.
Week three in high school football has so many intriguing games that fans will have lots of choices this week.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 8, 2026
The dark photon search produced an especially intriguing result.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 6, 2026
While some surrounding galleries don’t jell as well—partly because their themes bleed into one another—they nevertheless present intriguing arrays.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 5, 2026
He was intriguing to me because he seems like he perhaps really believes that he’s doing it right.
From Slate ● Aug. 31, 2026
Today he is replying to a letter he finds particularly intriguing.
From "The Night Circus" by Erin Morgenstern
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.
