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 Justin Timberlake and Alicia Silverstone costar in the gripping mystery. Eric Andersson, Peoplemag, 2 Sep. 2023 Tying everything together is a gripping score by Philip Glass, with Paul Leonard-Morgan, a breathlessly atonal composition that simultaneously is unsettling and puts fans instantly at home in an Errol Morris film. Daniel Fienberg, The Hollywood Reporter, 1 Sep. 2023 Also this week, guest National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences President and CEO Adam Sharp discusses the diversity of the organization’s judges and Times staffers recommend a gripping Korean reality competition and a tense Navajo noir. Los Angeles Times Staff, Los Angeles Times, 25 Aug. 2023 Her book, The Coldest Winter Ever provided a gripping narrative that dove into the realities of urban life. Shelby Stewart, Essence, 11 Aug. 2023 Burden's gripping account, Dragon Lizards of Komodo, inspired his friend Merian C. Cooper to dream up the primordial Skull Island for his classic 1933 film, King Kong. Sunil Badami, Condé Nast Traveler, 24 July 2023 In a gripping testimony last year in front of the House Jan. 6 committee, Ms. Hutchinson described how Mr. Trump, knowing his supporters were armed and threatening violence on Jan. 6, urged them to march to Capitol anyhow — and even sought to join them. Alan Feuer, New York Times, 3 Aug. 2023 This gripping and unfailingly sympathetic documentary follows Ugandan opposition leader and activist Bobi Wine, a pop star-turned- politician from the slums of Kampala who has used music to denounce his country’s dictatorship. Dallasnews.com Staff, Dallas News, 3 Aug. 2023 Instead of simply seeing the bureaucrats and scientists, Chernobyl does a historically accurate and gripping job of placing you in the lives of the firefighters, volunteers, miners, and litany of regular people who risked their lives to help save others. Keith Nelson, Men's Health, 27 July 2023 See More

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 23 Sep. 2023.

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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