thrilling

adjective

thrill·​ing ˈthri-liŋ 

: causing a feeling of great excitement or happiness

a thrilling discovery

a thrilling performance

… flashes into the end zone to give the Rams the winning touchdown in the most thrilling Super Bowl finish ever.

—Rick Reilly

thrillingly

ˈthri-liŋ-lē 

adverb

Who, in fact, are the good guys and who are the bad guys in the dramas that unfold here so thrillingly?

—Marie Winn

… this is a powerful and thrillingly strange movie …

—Terrence Rafferty

Synonyms of thrilling

• exciting
• breathtaking
• interesting
• intriguing

Examples of thrilling in a Sentence

a thrilling adventure movie

Recent Examples on the Web

Its central set piece, a thrilling ski chase down the Alps, inspired a similar sequence in Christopher Nolan’s Inception (2010). — Declan Gallagher, Entertainment Weekly, 14 Aug. 2026

One of the more thrilling stretches includes a nearly vertical 30-foot drop and a 52-foot natural slide. — Brittany Anas, Forbes.com, 13 Aug. 2026

Amid the whirlwind of the film’s release, Romero admits that the most thrilling moment was getting to share the film with her family at the premiere. — Kelsie Gibson, PEOPLE, 13 Aug. 2026

The Carolina Panthers kicked off their preseason slate Thursday with a thrilling, 33-30 walk-off win over the Arizona Cardinals at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium in Canton, Ohio. — Mike Kaye, Charlotte Observer, 7 Aug. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1768, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for thrilling

• billing
• chilling
• drilling
• filling
• grilling
• killing
• milling
• pilling
• rilling
• schilling
• shilling
• skilling