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 of thrilling

• exciting
• breathtaking
• interesting
• intriguing

Examples of thrilling in a Sentence

a thrilling adventure movie

Recent Examples on the Web

In addition to the three WNBA games, the World Cup semifinals brought a thrilling finish, with Lionel Messi creating two last-ditch scoring opportunities, cashed in by teammates as Argentina stunned England. — Dom Amore, Hartford Courant, 19 July 2026

But the nation’s football team did provide significant joy, winning a thrilling final against Croatia 4-2 to earn their second star. — Chris Marshall-Bell, New York Times, 19 July 2026

What’s more thrilling than watching dinosaurs try to eat people alive on the big screen? — Matt Minton, Variety, 19 July 2026

At the end of a magical World Cup run filled with thrilling endings and comebacks, there was no such finish for Lionel Messi and Argentina. — Fiifi Frimpong, New York Daily News, 19 July 2026

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