intriguing

adjective in·trigu·ing \ in-ˈtrē-giŋ \

|Updated on: 14 Jul 2018

Examples: intriguing in a Sentence

Definition of intriguing

: engaging the interest to a marked degree : fascinating

an intriguing story

See intriguing defined for English-language learners

Examples of intriguing in a Sentence

Some had once contained medicines, sarsaparilla, or elixirs; others had intriguing names embossed into their glass panels: Balm of One Thousand Flowers, Indian Cholagogue, Dr. Kilmer's Kidney Cure, and Ocean Weed Heart Remedy. —Kim Wong Keltner, The Dim Sum of All Things, 2004
The Huns are intriguing not only because of their notoriously hawkish history, but also because of their place as middlemen between Mongol and Turkic ethnicity. —Victor L. Mote, Siberia, 1998
The next two phases of the Cambrian … mark the strangest, most important, and most intriguing of all episodes in the fossil record of animals—the short interval known as the Cambrian explosion … —Stephen Jay Gould, Natural History, July/August 1998
The folklorist Jan Brunvand has documented hundreds of "urban legends," intriguing stories that everyone swears happened to a friend of a friend … and that circulate for years in nearly identical form in city after city, but that can never be documented as real events. —Steven Pinker, The Language Instinct, 1994
The offer is very intriguing.
an intriguing concept that should engender much debate among climatologists

Recent Examples of intriguing from the Web

The World Cup quarterfinals kick off on Friday with a pair of intriguing matchups, as Uruguay takes on France, while Brazil meets Belgium.

— grant wahl and brian straus, SI.com, "World Cup Daily Podcast: The 'Varsity' Side of the World Cup Quarterfinals," 5 July 2018
An intriguing matchup awaits between Suarez and France’s Lucas Hernandez on Friday.

— martin rogers, USA TODAY, "The World Cup is getting seriously dirty now," 4 July 2018
Also announced were a 4 p.m. kickoff on ESPNews for the Sept. 1 season opener at Troy, and a 1:30 p.m. start for the intriguing Sept. 15 nonconference matchup with Oklahoma State.

— dave southorn, idahostatesman, "Kickoff times set for Boise St. football opener, first home game and Oklahoma St.," 31 May 2018
So far, this is a strange series despite the intriguing matchup between the league’s two premiere teams.

— ann killion, San Francisco Chronicle, "Warriors “avalanche” buries Houston in Game 3," 20 May 2018
Few games this season have presented such intriguing pitching matchups.

— sean meagher, OregonLive.com, "Preakness Stakes 2018: Start time, post positions, odds, TV channel, how to watch live stream," 19 May 2018
An intriguing matchup with the defending NBA champion Warriors begins Saturday.

— k.c. johnson, chicagotribune.com, "A confident Nikola Mirotic talks Pelicans playoffs and trade from Bulls: 'We both did what was the best for us'," 25 Apr. 2018
But Saturday should provide an intriguing matchup for an FC Cincinnati side that churns out goal-scoring chances but has struggled to score, and a Pittsburgh group that seems smug with simply preventing opponents from scoring.

— charlie hatch, Cincinnati.com, "FC Cincinnati's new-look attack faces a stout Riverhounds backline on Saturday night," 20 Apr. 2018
The intriguing matchup is magnified by the familiarity between players and coaches.

— j.c. carnahan, OrlandoSentinel.com, "Hagerty travels to Lake Mary for top-ranked Super Six baseball showdown," 16 Apr. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'intriguing.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.