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

The other evening I was looking for something to watch, and I ended up choosing “Seven Days in May,” a 1964 political thriller starring Burt Lancaster, Kirk Douglas and Ava Gardner.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

The second time I saw the road thriller “Sirāt,” I couldn’t wait to hear the audience moan.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

I think he will outwork Eubank and might stop him, but I am edging towards a Benn victory on points in an absolute thriller.

Read more on BBC

In 2022, he became the first South Korean actor to win a Golden Globe award for best supporting actor in a series, after his performance in the first season of the chart-topping Netflix thriller.

Read more on BBC

The filmmaker, who first made noise in 2016 with a compact thriller, “10 Cloverfield Lane,” has become the only person to direct multiple Predator movies.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

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