riveted

past tense of rivet
as in focused
to fix (as one's attention) steadily toward a central objective everyone riveted their eyes on the trick that the magician was performing on stage

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of riveted Ted Koppel’s Nightline, which was launched on ABC News during the period, also kept Americans riveted to the crisis. Jonathan Alter, TIME, 29 Dec. 2024 Which isn’t to say they weren’t riveted. Kim Velsey, Curbed, 19 Dec. 2024 The current drone mania also echoes the Chinese spy balloon incident that riveted the country in 2023. Tom Vanden Brook, USA TODAY, 18 Dec. 2024 But within about 90 minutes of the dive, the submersible lost communications with the mother ship, triggering a desperate rescue mission that riveted the world’s attention. Matthew Carey, Deadline, 17 Dec. 2024 The Discord channel was riveted. Charles Bethea, The New Yorker, 16 Dec. 2024 What’s happening in entertainment TV and streaming From the moment fatal shots were fired outside a New York City hotel, the US has been riveted by the search for the UnitedHealthcare CEO killer. Andrew Torgan, CNN, 15 Dec. 2024 Now, a new Netflix documentary series reexamines the gruesome December 1996 killing and suggests modern technology might help solve the homicide that has riveted and perplexed the country for decades. Jean Casarez, CNN, 27 Nov. 2024 Build slides for online delivery with images, infographics, or brief videos to keep your audience riveted to the small screen. William Arruda, Forbes, 20 Oct. 2024
Recent Examples of Synonyms for riveted
Verb
  • Modern breeders have focused not just on leaf color, but on traits including leaf size and shape.
    Margaret Roach, New York Times, 25 Mar. 2025
  • Between 2008 and 2021, the use of sinkers was down over 40 percent as teams focused on high-spin riding fastballs and pitching for whiffs at the top of the zone.
    Eno Sarris, The Athletic, 25 Mar. 2025
Verb
  • In an economic study published in 1963, the historian Ping Chiu found that in California the two groups were mostly stratified into different labor pools, with the Chinese concentrated in lower-wage jobs in agriculture and industries such as textile and cigar manufacturing.
    Michael Luo, The New Yorker, 5 Jan. 2025
  • The real estate market for high-end properties priced more than $5 million is limited in Sacramento, but luxury transactions are increasingly concentrated in the $3 million to $4 million range, Bishop said.
    David Caraccio, Sacramento Bee, 4 Jan. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Riveted.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/riveted. Accessed 2 May. 2025.

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