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

• exciting
• breathtaking
• interesting
• intriguing

Examples of thrilling in a Sentence

a thrilling adventure movie

Recent Examples on the Web

Tune the channel to ABC at 4:30 p.m. ET on Sunday afternoon to catch a thrilling WNBA basketball contest between the Dallas Wings and Las Vegas Aces. —Ben Verbrugge, MSNBC Newsweek, 17 Aug. 2025

These algorithms shape so much of our lives in a way that is both thrilling and uncomfortable. —Allison Parshall, Scientific American, 15 Aug. 2025

Washington delivers the dialogue with a thrilling range from purrs to roars, all imbued with an authoritative swagger. —Richard Brody, New Yorker, 15 Aug. 2025

There are few players in world football more thrilling to watch than Cherki. —Jordan Campbell, New York Times, 15 Aug. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1768, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for thrilling

• billing
• chilling
• drilling
• filling
• grilling
• killing
• milling
• pilling
• rilling
• schilling
• shilling
• skilling