: one that thrills
especially
: a work of fiction or drama designed to hold the interest by the use of a high degree of intrigue, adventure, or suspense
Examples of thriller in a Sentence
His latest novel is a political thriller.
those television awards are hardly thrillers since the same people win year after year
Recent Examples on the Web
The psychological thriller is based on Michelle Frances’ novel of the same name and stars Robin Wright, Olivia Cooke and Laurie Davidson.
—
Stewart Clarke, Deadline, 8 Oct. 2025
Cable and streaming outlet MGM+ has picked up rights to Vanished, a four-episode thriller starring Cuoco (The Flight Attendant, The Big Bang Theory) and Sam Claflin (Peaky Blinders).
—Rick Porter, HollywoodReporter, 8 Oct. 2025
Other recent books include Red Team Blues, a science fiction crime thriller; Chokepoint Capitalism, nonfiction about monopoly and creative labor markets; the Little Brother series for young adults; In Real Life, a graphic novel; and the picture book Poesy the Monster Slayer.
—Literary Hub, 8 Oct. 2025
The unconventional thriller played like gangbusters to the buzzing New York crowd.
—Patrick Ryan, USA Today, 7 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for thriller
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Stewart Clarke, Deadline, 8 Oct. 2025
Cable and streaming outlet MGM+ has picked up rights to Vanished, a four-episode thriller starring Cuoco (The Flight Attendant, The Big Bang Theory) and Sam Claflin (Peaky Blinders).
—Rick Porter, HollywoodReporter, 8 Oct. 2025
Other recent books include Red Team Blues, a science fiction crime thriller; Chokepoint Capitalism, nonfiction about monopoly and creative labor markets; the Little Brother series for young adults; In Real Life, a graphic novel; and the picture book Poesy the Monster Slayer.
—Literary Hub, 8 Oct. 2025
The unconventional thriller played like gangbusters to the buzzing New York crowd.
—Patrick Ryan, USA Today, 7 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for thriller
Cite this Entry
“Thriller.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/thriller. Accessed 9 Oct. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
thriller
noun
thril·ler
ˈthril-ər 
: one that thrills
especially
: a work of fiction or drama with a great deal of action, mystery, adventure, or suspense
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