as in breathtaking
causing great emotional or mental stimulation
the movie's climax is a heart-stopping chase through the streets of San Francisco
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Recent Examples of heart-stopping
At one point, MacLachlan orchestrates a heart-stopping moment of reckoning for Bill and Tammy, written with a sudden, cathartic directness—a break in their usual language of deferential hesitations—which the actors underplay to perfection.
—
Justin Chang, New Yorker, 22 Aug. 2025
After nearly a year of planning, a group of four foxes made a heart-stopping journey from Russia to Santa Ysabel in late June, avoiding war, diverted flights and even missiles along the way.
—Regina Elling, San Diego Union-Tribune, 20 Aug. 2025
Festivalgoers at a major music event found themselves in a heart-stopping situation after a popular amusement ride suddenly shut down, leaving several people stranded upside down in the air.
—Stepheny Price, FOXNews.com, 11 Aug. 2025
Glacier viewing cruises depart twice a day to the terminus of Columbia Glacier, its sheer ice walls rising 300 feet above the sea, or take a helicopter ride with Alpine Air Alaska and climb on the glacier after heart-stopping helicopter ride.
—Melanie Haiken, Outside Online, 23 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for heart-stopping
Justin Chang, New Yorker, 22 Aug. 2025
After nearly a year of planning, a group of four foxes made a heart-stopping journey from Russia to Santa Ysabel in late June, avoiding war, diverted flights and even missiles along the way.
—Regina Elling, San Diego Union-Tribune, 20 Aug. 2025
Festivalgoers at a major music event found themselves in a heart-stopping situation after a popular amusement ride suddenly shut down, leaving several people stranded upside down in the air.
—Stepheny Price, FOXNews.com, 11 Aug. 2025
Glacier viewing cruises depart twice a day to the terminus of Columbia Glacier, its sheer ice walls rising 300 feet above the sea, or take a helicopter ride with Alpine Air Alaska and climb on the glacier after heart-stopping helicopter ride.
—Melanie Haiken, Outside Online, 23 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for heart-stopping
Recent Examples of Synonyms for heart-stopping
Adjective
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The action sequences keep you on the edge of your seat, and the animation is nothing short of breathtaking.—
Paul Tassi,
Forbes.com,
13 Sep. 2025
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This breathtaking image from James Sinclair gives us a detailed view of a section of the sun's atmosphere known as the chromosphere — a chaotic region where hydrogen and helium plasma is molded and reshaped by our star's ever-shifting magnetic field.—
Anthony Wood,
Space.com,
12 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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Other exciting territory in The Grand Finale involved Mary’s changing relationship with the other Crawley women.—
Anna Cafolla,
Vogue,
11 Sep. 2025
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That’s more exciting to me than last year, when James swept the fiction categories, with even the Pulitzer board overriding their fiction judges to award the big prize to Percival Everett’s novel.—
Maris Kreizman,
Literary Hub,
11 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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For more than a century, the region has been caught in a thrilling but exhausting economic romance.—
Reid Rasner,
Forbes.com,
10 Sep. 2025
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McCarthy led the Vikings on a thrilling comeback, scoring 21 points in the fourth quarter to defeat the Chicago Bears, 27-24, on the road to begin the 2025 NFL season.—
Scott Thompson,
FOXNews.com,
9 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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That's a really interesting way to put it.—
H. Alan Scott,
MSNBC Newsweek,
17 Sep. 2025
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Sign up for our Park Life newsletter and find out what’s new and interesting every week at Southern California’s theme parks.—
Robert Niles,
Oc Register,
16 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Heart-stopping.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/heart-stopping. Accessed 17 Sep. 2025.
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