thrill

verb \ ˈthril \

Updated on: 26 Apr 2018

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

Strong cases could be made for Georgia inside linebacker Roquan Smith and Notre Dame guard Quenton Nelson, and the Bears should be thrilled with any of the three.

— rich campbell, chicagotribune.com, "Fill in the blank: Bears writers address four topics before NFL draft," 22 Apr. 2018
She was thrilled to later move into Yeats’s former house.

— kate bolick, New York Times, "Who Bought Sylvia Plath’s Stuff?," 21 Apr. 2018
Chrisleen Herard, 17, was thrilled when Howard University offered her a seat in its class of 2022.

— deirdre fernandes, BostonGlobe.com, "You got into college. Congratulations! Here’s the bill," 19 Apr. 2018
When our water heater broke one morning and the apartment flooded, I was thrilled, and waded out to wake my parents.

— alexander chee, Longreads, "The Changeling," 17 Apr. 2018
Transit enthusiasts are thrilled by the excitement around biking, but these dockless services are already becoming synonymous with clutter and obstructed sidewalks.

— andrew j. hawkins, The Verge, "Uber acquires dockless bike-share startup Jump," 9 Apr. 2018
Every time this spring that Ohio State's coach has explained why he's been less than thrilled with the offense and the quarterbacks (and it's happened several times) Meyer has been calling out to his former four-year starter.

— doug lesmerises, cleveland.com, "How Ohio State really misses J.T. Barrett: Doug Lesmerises," 7 Apr. 2018
Great progress has been made on size, weight, and longevity; I'd be thrilled if manufacturers would start using that progress to do more than shave off a few millimeters of thickness or grams of weight.

— peter bright, Ars Technica, "The 25th-anniversary ThinkPad: Every laptop should add some retro appeal," 1 Apr. 2018
Vanessa Bell and Duncan Grant were thrilled by Keynes’s scheme.

— jason zweig, WSJ, "When Keynes Played Art Buyer," 30 Mar. 2018

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

in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1a

See Words from the same year

thrill Synonyms

Synonyms

charge, electrify, excite, exhilarate, galvanize, intoxicate, pump up, titillate, turn on;

Near Antonyms

bore, jade, pall, tire, weary;

deject, demoralize, discourage, dishearten, dispirit;

bewitch, captivate, charm, delight, enchant, enthrall (or enthral), hypnotize, mesmerize, rivet, spellbind;

interest, intrigue, tantalize;

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.”