thriller

[thril-er]

noun

1. a person or thing that thrills.

2. an exciting, suspenseful play or story, especially a mystery story.

thriller

/ ˈθrɪlə /

noun

1. a book, film, play, etc, depicting crime, mystery, or espionage in an atmosphere of excitement and suspense

2. a person or thing that thrills

thriller

1. A suspenseful, sensational story or film: “Ken Follett writes best-selling spy thrillers.”

In Great Britain, the word thriller is sometimes used for all mystery novels: “Martha Grimes, an American, writes British-style thrillers.”

Word History and Origins

Origin of thriller¹

1885–90; 1920–25 thriller for def. 2; thrill + -er ¹

Example Sentences

In August, it closed Paramount Television Studios, which produced series including action thriller Jack Ryan and children's adventure series The Spiderwick Chronicles.

Read more on BBC

The task may not have had the pressure of a five-set thriller, but given Carlos’s visibility as one of the world’s best tennis players, it was not without hazard.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

On paper, a world where one kills to work sounds like a dismal dystopian thriller.

Read more on Salon

He hopes people are embracing the thriller elements of “Task,” of course.

Read more on Salon

“Gone Before Goodbye” is not some magpie creature patched together from shopworn thriller tropes, even if certain plot elements feel a bit much.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• conundrum 
• enigma 
• problem 
• question 
• riddle 
• secrecy 
• subtlety