as in interesting
holding the attention or provoking interest
a riveting explanation of light waves that fascinated the class
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in focusing
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
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of riveting
Jessica Kiang, Variety, 20 May 2026
Of the eight children their mother (Arivere Kagoyire) raised, only Vénéranda and her sister Suzanne (a riveting Isabelle Kabano, who starred in Eric Barbier’s Small Country) survive.
—Sheri Linden, HollywoodReporter, 19 May 2026
Bay Area News Group, Mercury News, 5 Apr. 2026
Welcome to Screen Gab, the newsletter for everyone wondering how to make each hour in their workday riveting for television viewers.
—Amy Nicholson, Los Angeles Times, 16 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for riveting
Adjective
There’s a temptation to call such men too big for their boots, but Henri is too small for his, and Arlaud is so good at projecting that insufficiency, yet still being riveting to watch.
—Jessica Kiang, Variety, 20 May 2026
Of the eight children their mother (Arivere Kagoyire) raised, only Vénéranda and her sister Suzanne (a riveting Isabelle Kabano, who starred in Eric Barbier’s Small Country) survive.
—Sheri Linden, HollywoodReporter, 19 May 2026
Verb
Pomona native and Cal Poly grad who flew Navy F-18s successfully launches as pilot of NASA’s riveting Artemis II mission around the moon, the first such voyage since the Apollo program in 1972.
—Bay Area News Group, Mercury News, 5 Apr. 2026
Welcome to Screen Gab, the newsletter for everyone wondering how to make each hour in their workday riveting for television viewers.
—Amy Nicholson, Los Angeles Times, 16 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for riveting
Recent Examples of Synonyms for riveting
Adjective
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There's a joyously wacky energy to this broad comedy on the whole, giving Rudd an interesting arc to play.—
Brian Truitt,
USA Today,
7 June 2026
-
And all this other stuff is interesting, the arch and the other things that bother us.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
7 June 2026
Verb
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Sifting Out the Solution Since receiving his doctorate from the University of Cambridge in 2000, Chan had been developing and refining ways to compress complicated quantum states by focusing only on their most important configurations.—
Quanta Magazine,
Quanta Magazine,
29 May 2026
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Raman, 44, has attempted to position herself as Bass’ most serious ideological challenger from the left, focusing heavily on housing affordability, tenant protections and criticism of the city’s political status quo.—
Teresa Liu,
Daily News,
29 May 2026
Adjective
-
All of this might seem a lot to go through for a few short words, but since those words are the first impression of the book, and have to be intriguing all on their own, the effort was well worthwhile—enough, hopefully, to invite readers to pick up the book and make their own decision.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
9 June 2026
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But on a court these are the driving forces for a hugely intriguing matchup as Wemby enters what is all but a must-win game while Team Brunson tries to all but put it away.—
Miami Herald,
Miami Herald,
8 June 2026
Verb
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By not concentrating everything on competition and by finding the right place for each film.—
Elsa Keslassy,
Variety,
4 June 2026
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Shifting the Focus Instead of focusing on delaying menopause, experts recommend concentrating on ways to mitigate the health risks that can crop up during this stage of life.—
Zoe Cunniffe,
Health,
3 June 2026
Adjective
-
There are few animals as fascinating and entertaining to watch as gorillas.—
Matt Reigle OutKick,
FOXNews.com,
9 June 2026
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Past and present are utilized in such a fascinating way as the filmmaker takes his premise to a logical, honest and heartfelt conclusion.—
Brian Truitt,
USA Today,
9 June 2026
Adjective
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Beyond his cachet, which reportedly attracted other suitors like the Toronto Maple Leafs, the 61-year-old Laviolette has long employed a forward-thinking, engaging and offensively aggressive style.—
Andrew Knoll,
Daily News,
11 June 2026
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Ramirez, never more engaging, invests an attractive and more carefree alternative, while Farthing may be less exciting but still someone who clearly loves Ivy, despite a rockier relationship that nevertheless is a viable path to take.—
Pete Hammond,
Deadline,
5 June 2026
Adjective
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Our editors and critics choose the most captivating, notable, brilliant, surprising, absorbing, weird, thought-provoking, and talked-about books.—
Namara Smith,
New Yorker,
10 June 2026
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Those sorts of unexpected shifts are what make Vile’s brand of self-absorption so uniquely absorbing after all these years, even as Philadelphia leans into his familiar formula of ’70s-Neil ditch-digging filtered through ’80s-Springsteen production and stretched across ’90s-CD sprawl.—
Stuart Berman,
Pitchfork,
4 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Riveting.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/riveting. Accessed 11 Jun. 2026.
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