Synonyms of riveted

riveted

verb

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

Synonyms & Similar Words

• focused
• concentrated
• fastened
• centered
• trained
• pointed
• aimed
• nailed
• directed
• leveled
• attended
• set
• heeded
• obsessed (over)
• zeroed (in on)
• honed in (on)
• homed (in on)
• minded
• fixated (on)
• refocused

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of riveted

The back-and-forth is the latest twist in a corporate saga that has riveted Hollywood in recent months. — Daniel Arkin, NBC news, 24 Aug. 2026

Archaeologists found charcoal, animal bones (none of them chicken bones), Carhartt buttons dating back to the first half of the 20th century and a shovel head that appeared to have been re-riveted by hand multiple times before it was discarded. — Nicole Blanchard, Idaho Statesman, 13 Aug. 2026

The case riveted the public and spawned true crime documentaries, podcasts and books. — Dianne Gallagher, CNN Money, 6 Aug. 2026

Eating disorders can carry what Scaringi calls a whiff of the salacious, and feeling riveted by someone’s changing body isn’t the same as caring about their well-being. — Angela Haupt, Time, 5 Aug. 2026

Carter had been weakened by the Iran hostage crisis, which had riveted the country for the previous year, but the Reagan campaign worried that if Carter secured a hostage release just before voters headed to the polls, the election would be his. — Tracy Grant, Encyclopedia Britannica, 9 July 2026

But like many other Venezuelans, I am riveted by the pictures of endless rubble, of buildings whose facades have collapsed, displaying the rooms inside like dioramas of life before disaster. — Gisela Salim-Peyer, The Atlantic, 1 July 2026

Betty Kovacs, the eldest daughter of comedian Ernie Kovacs who with her sister Kippie and stepmother, actress-singer Edie Adams, was at the center of a nasty custody battle that kept Hollywood riveted in 1962, has died. — Mike Barnes, HollywoodReporter, 29 June 2026

In a world riveted by an unprecedented fossil fuel crisis, does anyone have time for a big summit on climate change? — Tim McDonnell, semafor.com, 23 June 2026