as in interesting
holding the attention or provoking interest
I found the exhibit on the Holocaust intensely gripping and quite moving
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
1
as in clenching
to have or keep in one's hands
gripped the handlebars tightly and raced down the hill
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in fascinating
to hold the attention of as if by a spell
that true crime story gripped me as much as any whodunit
Synonyms & Similar Words
3
as in intriguing
to hold the attention of
that movie will grip any true sports car fan
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
4
as in grasping
to reach for and take hold of by embracing with the fingers or arms
the baby gripped my fingers and wouldn't let go
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
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Recent Examples of gripping
Anastasia Sanger, Glamour, 22 Dec. 2025
Under, for the vast majority of the past 35 years or so, has barely even been close, let alone a gripping contest.
—Tim Spiers, New York Times, 21 Dec. 2025
Essence, 24 Oct. 2025
People have kind of grabbed onto that and started gripping it and have just started running with it.
—Ilana Kaplan, PEOPLE, 24 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for gripping
Adjective
It was beautifully shot, well-acted, and gripping.
—Anastasia Sanger, Glamour, 22 Dec. 2025
Under, for the vast majority of the past 35 years or so, has barely even been close, let alone a gripping contest.
—Tim Spiers, New York Times, 21 Dec. 2025
Verb
There were barrel racers slicing turns like poetry, bull riders gripping for glory, and calf ropers moving with the precision of surgeons.
—Essence, 24 Oct. 2025
People have kind of grabbed onto that and started gripping it and have just started running with it.
—Ilana Kaplan, PEOPLE, 24 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for gripping
Recent Examples of Synonyms for gripping
Adjective
-
The Cowboys have mastered the art of entertaining and interesting better than any sports franchise in the world, but there is a redundancy that to the person who spends a lot of their money on it is justifiably checked out.—
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
8 Jan. 2026
-
Seeing these guys unapologetically portrayed by an actor whose superpower is the audience is always with him was interesting.—
Brent Lang,
Variety,
7 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
Wole faced fixedly forward, both fists clenching the steering wheel.—
David Wright Faladé,
New Yorker,
28 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
New York has intriguing young outfielders in Jasson Domínguez and Spencer jones, but Bellinger was the team's second best player in the lineup this season.—
Shaun McAvoy,
MSNBC Newsweek,
21 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
Friends and family will often counsel against making such a weighty decision in the midst of emotional turbulence, not grasping that a profound sense of misalignment is what is feeding the turbulence in the first place.—
James Marcus,
New Yorker,
3 Nov. 2025
-
Still, Valentini managed to rise as a fashion authority for her talent in grasping gaps in the market and putting new names on the radar of Italian customers.—
Sandra Salibian,
Footwear News,
31 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
The production journey has involved balancing the original promise of the short film while creating an engaging genre piece.—
Naman Ramachandran,
Variety,
29 Oct. 2025
-
Users can create immersive, emotionally engaging performances with this feature, without the need for technical review.—
Atharva Gosavi,
Interesting Engineering,
28 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
The crowd of more than 100 people, many clutching drinks from the open bar, roared in approval.—
Stephen Hobbs,
Sacbee.com,
2 Nov. 2025
-
Ditching the fake blood, the TV star wore a pretty pink prom dress and tiara while clutching a flower bouquet to recreate the chilling scene from the film adaptation of Stephen King’s novel of the same name.—
Kate Hogan,
PEOPLE,
30 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
If that wasn't enchanting enough, they were then joined by their original Broadway counterparts, Kristin Chenoweth (Glinda) and Idina Menzel (Elphaba).—
Jillian Sederholm,
Entertainment Weekly,
7 Nov. 2025
-
Even the most incredulous of us listened to him describe the visions of fleeting stars that were enchanting enough to swoon the most beautiful people on this poor Earth.—
Big Think,
Big Think,
30 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
Jeff Bezos holding the device high.—
Andrew Nusca,
Fortune,
10 Nov. 2025
-
This loss had to be especially tough for the Jayhawks, considering a controversial holding call on KU changed the momentum of the game.—
Gary Bedore,
Kansas City Star,
9 Nov. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Gripping.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/gripping. Accessed 8 Jan. 2026.
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