thrilling

adjective

thrill·​ing ˈthri-liŋ 

: 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 

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

• breathtaking
• charged
• electric
• electrifying
• exciting
• exhilarating
• exhilarative
• galvanic
• galvanizing
• hair-raising
• heart-stopping
• inspiring
• intoxicating
• kicky
• mind-bending
• mind-blowing
• mind-boggling
• rip-roaring
• rousing
• stimulating
• stirring

Examples of thrilling in a Sentence

a thrilling adventure movie

Recent Examples on the Web

Yet that battle of wills concluded with a thrilling forehand winner from Keys—who instantly burst into tears. —Vogue, 25 Jan. 2025

Aryna Sabalenka 6-3 2-6 7-5 in a thrilling Australian Open women’s final. —Issy Ronald, CNN, 25 Jan. 2025

Ted Nguyen broke down film from both Washington-Philadelphia matchups this season and noticed a tweak between the first and second games: The Commanders used empty sets — to great success — in the second matchup, a thrilling 36-33 Washington win in Week 16. —Chris Branch, The Athletic, 24 Jan. 2025

The exhibit is meant to pay tribute to the centennial celebration of the very Anderson-like Giant Dipper roller coaster out on the beach, so after you’re done maybe head on over for a thrilling ride. —Randy McMullen, The Mercury News, 24 Jan. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1768, in the meaning defined above