heart-stopping

adjective

heart-stop·​ping ˈhärt-ˌstä-piŋ 

: extremely shocking or exciting

a heart-stopping adventure

heart-stopping views

heart-stoppingly adverb

a heart-stoppingly suspenseful film

a heart-stoppingly beautiful view

Synonyms

• breathtaking
• charged
• electric
• electrifying
• exciting
• exhilarating
• exhilarative
• galvanic
• galvanizing
• hair-raising
• inspiring
• intoxicating
• kicky
• mind-bending
• mind-blowing
• mind-boggling
• rip-roaring
• rousing
• stimulating
• stirring
• thrilling

Examples of heart-stopping in a Sentence

the movie's climax is a heart-stopping chase through the streets of San Francisco

Recent Examples on the Web

After about a dozen of these heart-stopping discoveries, at some point my obsession became unshakable, and led to using the perfect shape in my own work. —Sophie Collé, Architectural Digest, 27 Dec. 2024

The result was a match that didn't give you a moment to breathe as all three guys beat each other senseless, giving us some heart-stopping near-falls and ultimately the right result at Breakker retained in dominant fashion. —Tom Rogers, Newsweek, 26 Dec. 2024

With the diverse cast, heart-stopping action, extremely high stakes (and Jedi body count), and yeah, even that Darth Plagueis tease, the eight-episode first season charted a thrilling new direction for the franchise. —Ew Staff, EW.com, 6 Dec. 2024

This year's completely unexpected Vikings team notched its 10th win, once again in heart-stopping fashion. —Nick Halter, Axios, 2 Dec. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1888, in the meaning defined above