thrill

verb \ ˈthril \

Definition of thrill

transitive verb

1 a :to cause to experience a sudden sharp feeling of excitement

the news thrilled him

b :to cause to have a shivering or tingling sensation

2 :to cause to vibrate or tremble perceptibly

intransitive verb

1 :to become thrilled:

a :to experience a sudden sharp excitement

b :tingle, throb

2 :to move or pass so as to cause a sudden wave of emotion

3 :tremble, vibrate

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thrill

noun

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thrillingly

play \ˈthri-liŋ-lē\ adverb

See thrill defined for English-language learners

See thrill defined for kids

Examples of thrill in a Sentence

Circus performers still thrill audiences today.
I was thrilled by their decision.

Recent Examples of thrill from the Web

Outside the White House, Bannon’s supporters, who had watched him struggle to enact his populist-nationalist agenda, were thrilled at the prospect.

— tina nguyen, The Hive, "With Bannon Back at Breitbart, a Right-Wing Army Prepares for War," 18 Aug. 2017
The Sounders weren’t thrilled with Mansary’s attitude during the loan, nor with his comments to a Sierra Leone website saying the team wanted him back to play MLS games for them.

— geoff baker, The Seattle Times, "Sounders add midfielder Calum Mallace, waive forward Victor Mansaray," 10 Aug. 2017
Lucroy wasn’t acquired to be a backup, and Chirinos admits that he wasn’t thrilled with the trade initially.

— jeff wilson, star-telegram, "Chirinos chose wisely last season, and is back as Rangers’ No. 1 catcher," 3 Aug. 2017
Beyond the headliners, acts across all stages and genres thrilled the youthful audience.

— lilian min, Cosmopolitan, "Why FYF Is The Better Version of Coachella for Music Fans," 1 Aug. 2017
Bradley thrilled the crowd at Bunbury last year with his high-energy performance with his band, the Extraordinaires.

— bill thompson, Cincinnati.com, "The road is the Mastersons’ musical universe," 19 July 2017
Trump’s visceral rage is what thrills Republicans, not his policy — and a huge number of Republicans aren’t even interested in whether the rage undercuts his policy.

— ben shapiro, National Review, "More and More Trump Supporters Celebrate His Character Flaws," 19 July 2017
Despite feeling less-than-thrilled about her unwashed hair, Alyse didn't give up, and kept up the habit for an entire month.

— de elizabeth, Teen Vogue, "Vlogger Alyse Brautigam Doesn't Wash Her Hair For 30 Days," 13 July 2017
IndiGo investors weren’t thrilled: The company’s stock tanked 8 percent in two days, wiping out half a billion dollars from the company’s market value.

— anurag kotoky, Bloomberg.com, "For Sale: One International Airline With $8 Billion of Debt," 11 July 2017

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

Origin and Etymology of thrill

Middle English thirlen, thrillen to pierce, from Old English thyrlian, from thyrel hole, from thurh through — more at ¹through

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1592

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thrill Synonyms

THRILL Defined for English Language Learners

thrill

verb

Definition of thrill for English Language Learners

: to cause (someone) to feel very excited or happy
: to feel very excited or happy about something

THRILL Defined for Kids

thrill

verb \ ˈthril \

Definition of thrill for Students

thrilled; thrilling

:to have or cause to have a sudden feeling of excitement or pleasure

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thriller

noun

History for thrill

In the 1300s a person who was thrilled might not live long enough to tell about it, because the Middle English verb thrillen—the ancestor of our word thrill—meant literally “to pierce” or “stab,” as with a sword or spear. Thrillen was a variant of thirlen, which continued Old English thyrlian, derived from thyrel, “hole.” (The word thyrel also entered into Old English nosthyrl, literally, “nose hole,” the ancestor of modern English nostril.) Because the feeling of being pierced is a little like the experience of being moved by a strong emotion, thrill came to mean “to cause someone to feel excited.”