unputdownable

American

[uhn-poot-dau-nuh-buhl] / ˌʌn pʊtˈdaʊ nə bəl /

adjective

Informal.

(especially of a book or periodical) so interesting or suspenseful as to compel reading.

unputdownable British

/ ˌʌnpʊtˈdaʊnəbəl /

adjective

(of a book, esp a novel) so gripping as to be read right through at one sitting

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of unputdownable

From phrase put down; see un- ¹, -able

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.

See Examples For:

unputdownable

Harper Collins chief executive Charlie Redmayne described Higgins as a "classic thriller writer: instinctive, tough, relentless", adding his novels "were and remain absolutely unputdownable."

From BBC ● Apr. 9, 2022

Carrère later expanded his initial reportage into a chilling and unputdownable book, “The Adversary,” which — we learn from another essay — he deliberately modeled after Truman Capote’s “In Cold Blood.”

From Washington Post ● Dec. 17, 2019

Ten Days That Shook the World is neither history nor polemic, but a bit of both – a rhetorical act of witness that is both authentic and unputdownable.

From The Guardian ● Dec. 19, 2016

How can one book be so dismal and so utterly unputdownable?

From Slate ● Nov. 30, 2014

Luckily, unputdownable books like Mr. Pavone’s help keep the business alive and well.

From New York Times ● Mar. 5, 2014

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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023