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

For more than a century, the region has been caught in a thrilling but exhausting economic romance. —Reid Rasner, Forbes.com, 10 Sep. 2025

McCarthy led the Vikings on a thrilling comeback, scoring 21 points in the fourth quarter to defeat the Chicago Bears, 27-24, on the road to begin the 2025 NFL season. —Scott Thompson, FOXNews.com, 9 Sep. 2025

Gibbs-White would have been perfect for Frank’s plans, but Simons is a thrilling talent with a high ceiling. —James McNicholas, New York Times, 8 Sep. 2025

Spanish star Carlos Alcaraz won his second US Open title, defeating Italian rival Jannik Sinner in four thrilling sets. —Alexandra Banner, CNN Money, 8 Sep. 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