suspenseful

adjective

Definition of suspensefulnext
as in enthralling

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Examples Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for suspenseful
  1. engrossing
  2. riveting
  3. charming
  4. captivating
  5. intriguing
  6. gripping
  7. interesting
  8. fascinating
Adjective
  • Trump and former President Barack Obama—seated next to each other in the pews—appeared to have an engrossing conversation, with Obama laughing several times, a surprising moment for the two rivals.
    Sara Dorn, Forbes, 9 Jan. 2025
  • There’s no lack of suspense, human interest or unique animal footage in this engrossing feature, whose broad appeal should ensure wide exposure — at least among allied nations.
    Dennis Harvey, Variety, 8 Jan. 2025
Definition of engrossing
Adjective
  • While this doesn’t necessarily translate to the amount of players in the MMORPG, it’s been riveting to watch how a nearly two decade old game has been rejuvenated by a simple server launch.
    Kazuma Hashimoto, Rolling Stone, 2 Jan. 2025
  • This riveting nonfiction account tells their story across three generations, as well as the investigations into their company, empire and fortune.
    Carly Tagen-Dye, People.com, 31 Dec. 2024
Definition of riveting
Adjective
  • There’s a reason why the founders of Vail, in an effort to create a charming, quintessential ski town, copied Switzerland.
    Larry Olmsted, Forbes, 7 Jan. 2025
  • Is that his technique for charming alumni and donors?
    Judith Martin, Sun Sentinel, 7 Jan. 2025
Definition of charming
Adjective
  • As captivating as the suspense is the provocative exploration of working with a helpful (yet annoying) colleague who’s not quite human.
    Carly Tagen-Dye, People.com, 12 Jan. 2025
  • Playwright Lloyd Suh creates a captivating portrayal of intelligent, curious and creative women navigating the challenges of a new country.
    Encinitas Advocate, San Diego Union-Tribune, 7 Jan. 2025
Definition of captivating
Adjective
  • It’s only been a few days since My Arcade made waves teasing its intriguing collaboration with Atari, and now the company has announced 3 separate products in partnership with Capcom and Namco Bandai.
    Jason Evangelho, Forbes, 7 Jan. 2025
  • The study detailed intriguing patterns in the consumption of sugary drinks.
    Andrew Jacobs, New York Times, 6 Jan. 2025
Definition of intriguing
Adjective
  • After that point, Bring Them Down is off to the races, revealing itself as a gripping, bloody turf war-slash-Western, played out between Abbott’s shepherd and his duplicitous young neighbor.
    Damon Wise, Deadline, 31 Dec. 2024
  • As the sisters scheme to return it to their rightful owner, the quest takes a dangerous — and gripping — turn.
    Lizz Schumer, People.com, 21 Dec. 2024
Definition of gripping
Adjective
  • After the fact, Leonard dropped an interesting quote to reflect on his return to the court.
    Dan Perry, Newsweek, 5 Jan. 2025
  • The complete answer will have to wait through college and European signing season but there’s an interesting change emerging.
    Allan Mitchell, The Athletic, 5 Jan. 2025
Definition of interesting
Adjective
  • How the selection committee sifts through that will be fascinating.
    Brendan Marks, The Athletic, 10 Jan. 2025
  • This year’s stunning images vying for the Wildlife Photographer of the Year People’s Choice award offer unusual and fascinating peeks at the natural world.
    Carlyn Kranking, Smithsonian Magazine, 10 Jan. 2025
Definition of fascinating
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.

Thesaurus Entries Near suspenseful

suspense

suspenseful

suspenseless

See More Nearby Entries 

Cite this Entry

“Suspenseful.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/suspenseful. Accessed 17 Jan. 2025.

Copy Citation

Share

More from Merriam-Webster on suspenseful

Nglish: Translation of suspenseful 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!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See All

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

Using Bullet Points ( • )

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

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?

More Commonly Misspelled Words
See All

Popular in Wordplay

See All

Top 12 Sophisticated Compliments

Word of the Year 2024 | Polarization

Terroir, Oenophile, & Magnum: Ten Words About Wine

8 Words for Lesser-Known Musical Instruments

10 Words from Taylor Swift Songs (Merriam's Version)
See All

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 Word Game 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?
Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
white rubber duck stands out in a row of yellow ducks
Odd Word Out: Synonyms Quiz Figure out which word isn't like the others.