interesting
Americanadjective
-
engaging or exciting and holding the attention or curiosity.
an interesting book.
- Synonyms:
- entertaining, absorbing
- Antonyms:
- dull
-
arousing a feeling of interest.
an interesting face.
idioms
adjective
Usage
What are other ways to say interesting? A person or a thing that is interesting arouses a feeling of curiosity or concern, or is engaging and exciting. But interesting isn’t quite the same as pleasing or gratifying. Find out why on Thesaurus.com.
Other Word Forms
- interestingly adverb
- interestingness noun
- uninteresting adjective
- uninterestingly adverb
Etymology
Origin of interesting
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
But there were some interesting surprises in the results.
From Barron's • Apr. 1, 2026
A long-term investor considering Nike might want to commit for at least three years, and there are some interesting numbers to back that play.
From MarketWatch • Apr. 1, 2026
No business is good enough to buy at any price, but the combination of recent selloffs and wide moats make some dented compounder stocks interesting.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 31, 2026
Three hours might seem a stretch for this subject, but with the Walden period bookended by the lesser known pre- and post-Walden years, it stays interesting all along.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 30, 2026
The minute you start worrying about whether you cleaned your breakfast bowl before you left your cave, you’ve missed something interesting right in front of your face.
From "The Very, Very Far North" by Dan Bar-el
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
