thriller

[ thril-er ]

noun

1. a person or thing that thrills.
2. an exciting, suspenseful play or story, especially a mystery story.

thriller

/ ˈθrɪlə /

noun

1. a book, film, play, etc, depicting crime, mystery, or espionage in an atmosphere of excitement and suspense
2. a person or thing that thrills

thriller

1. A suspenseful, sensational story or film: “Ken Follett writes best-selling spy thrillers.”

Notes

In Great Britain , the word thriller is sometimes used for all mystery novels : “Martha Grimes, an American, writes British-style thrillers.”

Word History and Origins

Origin of thriller¹

1885–90; 1920–25 thriller fordef 2; thrill + -er ¹

Example Sentences

Also in Wolverhampton, Wattimena progressed by winning a 10-9 thriller of his own against Dimitri van den Bergh.

From BBC

After working together on the erotic drama “The Voyeurs,” Sydney Sweeney and director Michael Mohan create a religious thriller premiering at SXSW.

From Los Angeles Times

Part thriller, part true crime investigation, the nonfiction book uses one of the most heinous unsolved crimes of the Troubles — the 1972 disappearance of Jean McConville, a widowed mother of 10 who was abducted from her Belfast home by intruders assumed to be members of the Irish Republican Army — to explore the lingering trauma of political violence on survivors and perpetrators alike.

From Los Angeles Times

In Peacock’s thriller series, Eddie Redmayne is the titular assassin being chased by Bianca, a British intelligence officer played by Lashana Lynch.

From Los Angeles Times

In a recent chat with Vanity Fair, Kidman veered away from details pertaining to her role in the A24 erotic thriller to discuss her wish list of directors and producers she has yet to work with but would like to.

From Salon

Related Words

• anxiety
• apprehension
• confusion
• doubt
• insecurity
• tension
• uncertainty