: 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
Filming has wrapped in Norway on psychological thriller movie Dark Skulls, starring Thor Rosland (The Pendragon Cycle), Ragga Ragnars (Vikings), Christopher Rygh (The Head Hunter), and The Last Kingdom actor and World’s Strongest Man Hall of Famer Magnus Samuelsson.
—
Andreas Wiseman, Deadline, 22 Apr. 2026
The gritty crime thriller, starring Adam Driver, Scarlett Johansson and Miles Teller, will world premiere in competition, while Neon has secured North American rights, Variety has learned.
—Elsa Keslassy, Variety, 22 Apr. 2026
The Bears eventually fell to the Los Angeles Rams in the divisional round in an overtime thriller.
—Scott Thompson, FOXNews.com, 22 Apr. 2026
Grey’s Anatomy star Kevin McKidd will star in a new ITV thriller, The Only Suspect, adapted by Trigger Point‘s Simon Ashdown from Louise Candlish’s novel.
—Lily Ford, HollywoodReporter, 22 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for thriller
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Andreas Wiseman, Deadline, 22 Apr. 2026
The gritty crime thriller, starring Adam Driver, Scarlett Johansson and Miles Teller, will world premiere in competition, while Neon has secured North American rights, Variety has learned.
—Elsa Keslassy, Variety, 22 Apr. 2026
The Bears eventually fell to the Los Angeles Rams in the divisional round in an overtime thriller.
—Scott Thompson, FOXNews.com, 22 Apr. 2026
Grey’s Anatomy star Kevin McKidd will star in a new ITV thriller, The Only Suspect, adapted by Trigger Point‘s Simon Ashdown from Louise Candlish’s novel.
—Lily Ford, HollywoodReporter, 22 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for thriller
Cite this Entry
“Thriller.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/thriller. Accessed 27 Apr. 2026.
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
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
