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.
That picture has become even more intriguing since the Ledi Geraru paper appeared in 2025.
From Science Daily • May 16, 2026
An intriguing witness, she was almost robotic-sounding in her answers on the stand.
From BBC • May 15, 2026
But the reason it’s really intriguing is buried between the lines, nestled in a place I’m not sure even Sánchez Bezos can see.
From Salon • May 6, 2026
Videos of Chinese and Japanese-inspired head spa treatments started popping up on social media in 2022 — the arc-shaped “waterfall bath” is especially visually intriguing.
From Los Angeles Times • May 5, 2026
And yet the square was now attracting a trickle of visitors who seemed to find the anomaly most intriguing.
From "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" by J.K. Rowling
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.
