thrilling
Americanadjective
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producing sudden, strong, and deep emotion or excitement.
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producing a tremor, as by chilling.
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vibrating; trembling; quivering.
adjective
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very exciting or stimulating
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vibrating or trembling
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of thrilling
Explanation
When something is thrilling, it makes you feel excited or exhilarated. Roller coasters are thrilling for some people—other people just find them nauseating. If your heart is beating fast and you feel absolutely elated, something thrilling is happening. Some of us find it thrilling to speak in front of a crowd or to dive into a cold lake. It's also thrilling to see your favorite movie star in person or to get a poem published in a magazine. The adjective thrilling comes from the verb thrill, which originally meant "pierce," and later "give a shivering excitement" or "pierce with emotion."
Vocabulary lists containing thrilling
List 1
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Amazing, List 1
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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.
The biopic based on pop icon Michael Jackson was still thrilling fans but dropped out of the top spot in its fifth weekend on the silver screen.
From Barron's • May 24, 2026
Former Middlesbrough boss Carrick has led United to a guaranteed third place in the Premier League after Sunday's thrilling win over Nottingham Forest.
From BBC • May 22, 2026
Matt Roush acknowledges that “The gravitas of ‘Task’ and ‘The Testaments’ should help their chances, though I’m wistfully rooting for the thrilling ‘Alien: Earth.’
From Los Angeles Times • May 21, 2026
Her position is an experiment by the church during its era of aggiornamento, or updating, and the liberalizations in the air during Vatican II contribute to the thrilling sense of possibility.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 8, 2026
Review in the Supreme Court is rare enough, but the possibility that the Court might create constitutional relief for children sentenced to die in prison made this opportunity even more thrilling.
From "Just Mercy" by Bryan Stevenson
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.
