gripping

adjective

grip·​ping ˈgri-piŋ How to pronounce gripping (audio)
: taking a powerful hold upon one's interest or feelings
a gripping thriller
Shabba Ranks has a gripping baritone voice that ranges from bedroom purr to locker-room-boast roar.Mark Coleman
grippingly adverb
a grippingly honest performance

Examples of gripping in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Packed with atmospheric tension, psychological depth, and Nesbø's masterful suspense building, ‘The Snowman’ will immerse the reader into a gripping tale of fear, obsession, and the hunt for a killer. David Nikel, Forbes, 26 Feb. 2024 Real events and personalities are often more gripping and wondrous and strange than those in works of fiction. David A. Bell, The New York Review of Books, 1 Feb. 2024 To protect kids, California might require chronological feeds on social media Social media companies design their feeds to be as gripping as possible, with complicated algorithms shuffling posts and ads into a never-ending stream of entertainment. Laurel Rosenhall, Los Angeles Times, 1 Feb. 2024 Before The Menu graced the silver screen in 2022, there existed another gripping tale of dining peril. James Mercadante, EW.com, 27 Oct. 2023 This one is silliness all the way down, and less gripping for it. Angie Han, The Hollywood Reporter, 1 Mar. 2024 This eight-episode limited podcast will delve into the mysterious death of the Butterfly King, taking listeners on a gripping journey and following a trail of dissidents, poisoners, soldiers and spies to unravel eighty years of lies and cover-ups. K.j. Yossman, Variety, 29 Feb. 2024 And the way this bit is told—with Okafor and Rick in a pretty intense brawl—is actually pretty gripping stuff. Erik Kain, Forbes, 25 Feb. 2024 One of the most gripping parts of this story is how one woman in pain was kept as comfortable as possible while two of her companions canoed out to get help. Mary Ann Grossmann, Twin Cities, 21 Jan. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'gripping.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1896, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of gripping was in 1896

Dictionary Entries Near gripping

Cite this Entry

“Gripping.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/gripping. Accessed 18 Mar. 2024.

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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