gripping

[ grip-ing ]

adjective

1. holding the attention or interest intensely; fascinating; enthralling:

   a gripping play; a gripping book.

Other Words From

• gripping·ly adverb
• gripping·ness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of gripping¹

First recorded in 1620–30; grip + -ing ²

Example Sentences

It was probably inevitable that Patrick Radden Keefe’s gripping 2019 bestseller “Say Nothing: A True Story of Murder and Memory in Northern Ireland” would be adapted by Hollywood.

From Los Angeles Times

You may eventually see that you’ve been bamboozled, or you may continue to descend into the mass psychosis gripping the American mind.

From Salon

In gripping, high-wire performances, American baritone Sean Panikkar as Alexei succumbs to roulette.

From Los Angeles Times

In a sign of the times, one popular podcaster talking about the painful recession gripping Hollywood recently declared, “L.A. is a much-better-weather version of Detroit right now.”

From Los Angeles Times

It was billed as a mass assault on a public health crisis that was gripping an impoverished post-war Glasgow.

From BBC

Related Words

• captivating
• engrossing
• enthralling
• exciting
• fascinating
• interesting
• intriguing
• riveting
• spellbinding