as in thrillers
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-hangers
And many have speculated that Netflix’s vast trove of data informs certain narrative habits on its shows (cliff-hangers to encourage bingeing, for example, and frequent restating of plot points to engage viewers distracted by their phones).
—
Geoff Colvin, Fortune, 13 Mar. 2026
The biggest key to the success of minidramas, though, is the cliff-hangers, which push viewers to keep paying for the next episode.
—Yixuan Tan, NBC news, 17 Aug. 2025
Which means there are some major cliff-hangers to obsess over for the next few weeks.
—Elizabeth Logan, Glamour, 11 Aug. 2025
Geoff Colvin, Fortune, 13 Mar. 2026
The biggest key to the success of minidramas, though, is the cliff-hangers, which push viewers to keep paying for the next episode.
—Yixuan Tan, NBC news, 17 Aug. 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-hangers
thrillers
Noun
-
In 1963 Alfred Hitchcock released The Birds, one of his most iconic thrillers.—
Encyclopedia Britannica,
Encyclopedia Britannica,
2 Apr. 2026
-
Unger, who lives in Clearwater, has a reputation for solid stand-alone thrillers that have landed on bestseller lists, with unusual plots and unconventional motives shrouded in dark-but-not-oppressive atmospheres.—
Oline H. Cogdill,
Sun Sentinel,
26 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Cliff-hangers.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/cliff-hangers. Accessed 7 Apr. 2026.
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