as in thriller
something (as a close contest) that induces much suspense as to its outcome
finally, a Super Bowl game that turned out to be a real cliff-hanger
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Recent Examples of cliff-hanger
The latest cliff-hanger, which saw Netflix ceding the bidding war to Paramount late Thursday, had Hollywood and the media worlds agog.
—
Rebecca Keegan, NBC news, 27 Feb. 2026
The resolution of its cliff-hanger ending and blockbuster finale for the spy saga, Mission: Impossible—The Final Reckoning (2025), underperformed its predecessor, and neither quite justified their expense.
—Miles Klee, Wired News, 5 Feb. 2026
That film ended on a massive cliff-hanger, meaning a lot of people have been waiting to see what happens after Peter Parker makes the difficult decision to erase his identity from the world.
—Brent Lang, Variety, 5 Jan. 2026
The show remains compulsively watchable; each episode ends on a cliff-hanger.
—Shirley Li, The Atlantic, 26 Dec. 2025
This was a fun, melodramatic cliff-hanger, but it’s not included in this full version of Kill Bill; the viewer only finds out the daughter is alive when Beatrix herself does: when the girl suddenly shows up in the film’s final sequence.
—Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 5 Dec. 2025
Angus Cloud, who played drug dealer Fezco, died after season two; the second season ended on a major cliff-hanger involving his character.
—Jackie Strause, HollywoodReporter, 17 Oct. 2025
For now, Mars keeps its secrets, and Bright Angel stays a cliff-hanger.
—Kaif Shaikh, Interesting Engineering, 11 Sep. 2025
Which means there are some major cliff-hangers to obsess over for the next few weeks.
—Elizabeth Logan, Glamour, 11 Aug. 2025
Rebecca Keegan, NBC news, 27 Feb. 2026
The resolution of its cliff-hanger ending and blockbuster finale for the spy saga, Mission: Impossible—The Final Reckoning (2025), underperformed its predecessor, and neither quite justified their expense.
—Miles Klee, Wired News, 5 Feb. 2026
That film ended on a massive cliff-hanger, meaning a lot of people have been waiting to see what happens after Peter Parker makes the difficult decision to erase his identity from the world.
—Brent Lang, Variety, 5 Jan. 2026
The show remains compulsively watchable; each episode ends on a cliff-hanger.
—Shirley Li, The Atlantic, 26 Dec. 2025
This was a fun, melodramatic cliff-hanger, but it’s not included in this full version of Kill Bill; the viewer only finds out the daughter is alive when Beatrix herself does: when the girl suddenly shows up in the film’s final sequence.
—Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 5 Dec. 2025
Angus Cloud, who played drug dealer Fezco, died after season two; the second season ended on a major cliff-hanger involving his character.
—Jackie Strause, HollywoodReporter, 17 Oct. 2025
For now, Mars keeps its secrets, and Bright Angel stays a cliff-hanger.
—Kaif Shaikh, Interesting Engineering, 11 Sep. 2025
Which means there are some major cliff-hangers to obsess over for the next few weeks.
—Elizabeth Logan, Glamour, 11 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for cliff-hanger
thriller
Noun
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The sci-fi thriller follows junior high teacher Ryland Grace (played by Ryan Gosling), who wakes from a coma alone on a spaceship.—
Brittany Anas,
Entertainment Weekly,
28 Feb. 2026
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Microdramas are associated with low-cost romance, but producers are now expanding into thrillers and true crime and adapting premium IP, added GammaTime’s Alex Montalvo.—
John Hopewell,
Variety,
27 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Cliff-hanger.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/cliff-hanger. Accessed 6 Mar. 2026.
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