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
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
Nonesuch ends not with a cliff-hanger, exactly, but with a transformation that necessitates a follow-up.
—Literary Hub, 12 Mar. 2026
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
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
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
Geoff Colvin, Fortune, 13 Mar. 2026
Nonesuch ends not with a cliff-hanger, exactly, but with a transformation that necessitates a follow-up.
—Literary Hub, 12 Mar. 2026
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
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
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
-
March Madness Sweet Sixteen thriller that advances Duke to its 13th Elite Eight.—
Joe Davidson
March 27,
Sacbee.com,
28 Mar. 2026
-
The film is a thriller, a spiritual journey and a tragic comedy, and includes flashbacks to Alighieri’s life (Isaac plays the poet as well).—
G. Allen Johnson,
San Francisco Chronicle,
28 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Cliff-hanger.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/cliff-hanger. Accessed 3 Apr. 2026.
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