THRILLER Synonyms: 8 Similar and Opposite Words

thriller

noun

ˈthri-lər

as in suspenser

something (as a close contest) that induces much suspense as to its outcome those television awards are hardly thrillers since the same people win year after year

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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 thriller The first half of the film is essentially a political thriller—shades of 1974’s The Parallax View and similar films—as global tensions have the world teetering on the brink of World War III. —

Jennifer Ouellette, ArsTechnica, 13 June 2026 This bleakly entertaining crime thriller, adapted from Cormac McCarthy's novel of the same name, is an essential Coen brothers text. —

Eric Farwell, Entertainment Weekly, 12 June 2026 Featuring a who’s-who of late-‘90s comedy talent and providing the meet-cute for Apatow and his future wife Leslie Mann, Stiller’s film threw everything at the wall to create a bold and darkly comic thriller that defied expectations. —

Simon Bland, IndieWire, 12 June 2026 Boston took Game 7 in another thriller. —

Bennett Durando, Denver Post, 12 June 2026 See All Example Sentences for thriller

Recent Examples of Synonyms for thriller

suspenser

Noun

Directed by Nelicia Low, the suspenser follows a young fencer struggling with keeping his secret crush on a fellow fencer from his homophobic mother.

— Vivienne Chow, Variety, 17 May 2022
On the other hand, the story introduces fictional characters and elements that give it the air of a suspenser, exactly the sort for which Harris is so popular.

— Frank Scheck, The Hollywood Reporter, 20 Jan. 2022