: one that thrills
especially
: a work of fiction or drama designed to hold the interest by the use of a high degree of intrigue, adventure, or suspense
Examples of thriller in a Sentence
His latest novel is a political thriller.
those television awards are hardly thrillers since the same people win year after year
Recent Examples on the Web
But Hackman gave the character a humanity that still continues to resonate with audiences, years after it was released in 2001.
‘Crimson Tide’
Hackman clearly came to play opposite Denzel Washington in this 1995 crime thriller.
—
Lisa Respers France, CNN, 2 Mar. 2025
The producer Cassian Elwes is telling me about the Gus Van Sant hostage thriller Dead Man’s Wire that was shooting in Kentucky with Bill Skarsgård, Dacre Montgomery, Cary Elwes and Myha’la.
—Baz Bamigboye, Deadline, 2 Mar. 2025
Nosferatu — Robert Eggers’ hit vampire thriller starring Bill Skarsgård, Lily-Rose Depp and Nicholas Hoult — has ended its theatrical run.
—Tim Lammers, Forbes, 2 Mar. 2025
The survival thriller tells the true story of a group of deep sea divers who have to rescue a colleague stranded in the North Sea.
—Brent Lang, Variety, 2 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for thriller
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.
Lisa Respers France, CNN, 2 Mar. 2025
The producer Cassian Elwes is telling me about the Gus Van Sant hostage thriller Dead Man’s Wire that was shooting in Kentucky with Bill Skarsgård, Dacre Montgomery, Cary Elwes and Myha’la.
—Baz Bamigboye, Deadline, 2 Mar. 2025
Nosferatu — Robert Eggers’ hit vampire thriller starring Bill Skarsgård, Lily-Rose Depp and Nicholas Hoult — has ended its theatrical run.
—Tim Lammers, Forbes, 2 Mar. 2025
The survival thriller tells the true story of a group of deep sea divers who have to rescue a colleague stranded in the North Sea.
—Brent Lang, Variety, 2 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for thriller
Cite this Entry
“Thriller.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/thriller. Accessed 9 Mar. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
thriller
noun
thril·ler
ˈthril-ər 
: one that thrills
especially
: a work of fiction or drama with a great deal of action, mystery, adventure, or suspense
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share