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.
But there was one intriguing outcome in the vote count: Two Arab parties together won 19 seats—almost twice as many as the 10 seats they won in the previous election.
From Slate ● Nov. 5, 2026
What makes the finding especially intriguing is how early the difference appeared, before many of the biological changes normally associated with sex-specific development.
From Science Daily ● Nov. 3, 2026
Yet another intriguing sub-plot to the announcement is Kabila's relationship with Rwanda's President Paul Kagame.
From BBC ● Oct. 31, 2026
The most intriguing prospect is Oklahoma State’s Drew Mestemaker, who wasn’t the starting quarterback of his high school team.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 31, 2026
Weirdly intriguing videos of these staged events flashed around the world as part of a soft-focus, Entertainment Tonight makeover for the Kim family dynasty.
From "Escape from Camp 14: One Man's Remarkable Odyssey from North Korea to Freedom in the West" by Blaine Harden
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
