riveted

[riv-i-tid]

adjective

1. fixed in place with or as if with rivets, fastened firmly.

   The two sections of the screen are attached to each other with a riveted hinge.

   The skillet features a riveted handle which provides a cool and safe grip for the user.

2. having or using rivets.

   Denim for the riveted work pants came from a mill in New Hampshire that was known for the quality of its fabrics.

3. firmly attentive.

   Last winter, the professor lectured on Darwin to a riveted audience in the Plainfield Opera House.

verb

1. the simple past tense and past participle of rivet.

Other Word Forms

• unriveted adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of riveted¹

rivet ( def. ) + -ed ² ( def. )

Example Sentences

It was nearly ten, but all this talk of lethal tar pits and strange illnesses had kept the children riveted.

Read more on Literature

Now it was his turn to be riveted.

Read more on Literature

Their small faces are riveted as he passes around a leaf from a California bay laurel tree.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

As a legendary act of national healing, the broadcast riveted a shocked nation.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Let’s replace Broadway with a bunch of rinks—and ask Stanley Cup hockey teams to send us all into the riveted rapture.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• fast 
• robust 
• solid 
• steady 
• strong 
• sturdy 
• substantial 
• tenacious 
• tight 
• unshakable