intriguing

1 of 2

adjective

in·​trigu·​ing in-ˈtrē-giŋ 

: engaging the interest to a marked degree : fascinating entry 1

an intriguing story

intriguing

2 of 2

present participle of intrigue entry 2

Synonyms of intriguing

Adjective

• interesting
• fascinating
• engaging

Examples of intriguing in a Sentence

Adjective

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 on the Web

Adjective

But this discovery has also presented Miller-Idriss and PERIL with an intriguing approach to preventing multiple forms of violence. — Odette Yousef, NPR, 29 Aug. 2026

Winder, 28, was once viewed as one of the more intriguing young pitchers in the Minnesota Twins organization. — Peter Chawaga, Forbes.com, 29 Aug. 2026

What an intriguing and clever twist on the classic bank heist narrative, with powerful female performances at its core by Carrie Crowley, Bríd Brennan and Eva-Jane Gaffney. — Alex Ritman, Variety, 28 Aug. 2026

Accompanying the vocals sits an intriguing, rapid-fire, finger-picking guitar, performed in the recording studio by session musician Chip Young. — Wendy Hargreaves, Fortune, 28 Aug. 2026

Word History

Etymology

Adjective

see intrigue entry 1

First Known Use

Adjective

1752, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for intriguing

• fatiguing