thrilling

adjective

thrill·​ing ˈthri-liŋ How to pronounce thrilling (audio)
Synonyms of thrillingnext
: causing a feeling of great excitement or happiness
a thrilling discovery
a thrilling performance
… flashes into the end zone to give the Rams the winning touchdown in the most thrilling Super Bowl finish ever.—Rick Reilly
thrillingly
ˈthri-liŋ-lē How to pronounce thrilling (audio)
adverb
Who, in fact, are the good guys and who are the bad guys in the dramas that unfold here so thrillingly? —Marie Winn
… this is a powerful and thrillingly strange movie … —Terrence Rafferty

Synonyms of thrilling

Relevance
See All Synonyms & Antonyms in Thesaurus

Examples of thrilling in a Sentence

a thrilling adventure movie
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
The Carolina Panthers kicked off their preseason slate Thursday with a thrilling, 33-30 walk-off win over the Arizona Cardinals at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium in Canton, Ohio. — Mike Kaye, Charlotte Observer, 7 Aug. 2026 As Howard mentioned, this tournament had magical moments for the team, including two thrilling goals from striker Folarin Balogun. — Chris Perugini, Forbes.com, 7 Aug. 2026 The thrilling, beguiling work lasted for a hypnotic three hours; this was merely its second act, with the third, a 60-minute-long bow staged in a part of the Whitney that’s inaccessible to the public, following afterward. — Alex Greenberger, ARTnews.com, 6 Aug. 2026 The car’s precise steering and remarkable braking system deliver a thrilling driving experience. — Jerry Perez, The Drive, 6 Aug. 2026 See All Example Sentences for thrilling

Word History

First Known Use

1768, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of thrilling was in 1768

Rhymes for thrilling

See All Rhymes for thrilling

Browse Nearby Words

thrillful
thrilling
thrillingly
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Thrilling.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/thrilling. Accessed 14 Aug. 2026.

Copy Citation

More from Merriam-Webster on thrilling

Nglish: Translation of thrilling for Spanish Speakers

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of vacuous

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

7 Pairs of Commonly Confused Words

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

Words from the 'Odyssey'

The Longest Long Words List

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat

The Words of the Week - Aug. 14

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

Words from the 'Odyssey'

The Longest Long Words List
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
image of a green cube out of place in a lineup of red spheres
Odd Word Out: Synonyms Vol. 2 Quiz Figure out which word isn't like the others.
See All