as in interesting
holding the attention or provoking interest
a riveting explanation of light waves that fascinated the class
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in focusing
to fix (as one's attention) steadily toward a central objective
everyone riveted their eyes on the trick that the magician was performing on stage
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
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.
Recent Examples of riveting
Tony Jones, New York Times, 27 Mar. 2025
This 2010 drama is a riveting movie about a woman (Juliette Binoche) and man (William Shimell) who seem to be meeting and flirting for the first time … but then maybe not.
—Brian Tallerico, Vulture, 25 Mar. 2025
Plus there was his riveting Macbeth in Joel Cohen’s film adaptation.
—Jeryl Brunner, Forbes, 24 Mar. 2025
The Clippers have beaten all four of those teams at Intuit Dome, including a riveting 132-119 defeat of the Cavaliers Tuesday night.
—Law Murray, The Athletic, 24 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for riveting
Adjective
In 100 riveting profiles, top basketball writers justify their selections and uncover the history of the NBA in the process.
—Tony Jones, New York Times, 27 Mar. 2025
This 2010 drama is a riveting movie about a woman (Juliette Binoche) and man (William Shimell) who seem to be meeting and flirting for the first time … but then maybe not.
—Brian Tallerico, Vulture, 25 Mar. 2025
Plus there was his riveting Macbeth in Joel Cohen’s film adaptation.
—Jeryl Brunner, Forbes, 24 Mar. 2025
The Clippers have beaten all four of those teams at Intuit Dome, including a riveting 132-119 defeat of the Cavaliers Tuesday night.
—Law Murray, The Athletic, 24 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for riveting
Recent Examples of Synonyms for riveting
Adjective
-
Having said that, there might be interesting parallels with other cases and countries.—
Isaac Chotiner,
New Yorker,
10 Apr. 2025
-
The series has an interesting group of producers including Peaky Blinders creator Steven Knight, who is a lifelong Blues fan, who will exec produce, and Tom Brady, who bought a minority stake in the club in August 2023 and will produce via his Religion of Sports label.—
Peter White,
Deadline,
10 Apr. 2025
Verb
-
Pitchers As far as pitching goes, the thesis couldn’t be simpler — do our best to avoid any bias attached to surface stats (outputs) by instead focusing on underlying metrics (inputs).—
John Laghezza,
New York Times,
11 Apr. 2025
-
State government has been focusing on East Hartford in recent years because the administration of then-Mayor Mike Walsh advanced a series of high-profile, potentially transformative projects.—
Don Stacom,
Hartford Courant,
11 Apr. 2025
Adjective
-
What’s Not In There were some intriguing omissions.—
Andreas Wiseman,
Deadline,
10 Apr. 2025
-
Built in 2019 and completed in 2020, the five-bedroom, eight-bathroom house has an intriguing backstory that lines up perfectly with its glamorous exterior and interior.—
TJ Macias,
Miami Herald,
8 Apr. 2025
Verb
-
This led to an explosion of technology development and, with funding concentrating on a smaller number of startups, set the playing field for 2025.—
Jeff Mahler,
Forbes,
23 Dec. 2024
-
Since the trial began, the Amazons have ventured out about three times a week to paste messages on both sides of the ramparts, but mostly concentrating on the intra-muros area near the courthouse.—
Catherine Porter,
New York Times,
20 Dec. 2024
Adjective
-
This rule set up a fascinating opportunity to directly compare the health outcomes of two groups of individuals over time.—
Katia Hetter,
CNN Money,
16 Apr. 2025
-
Their work raises fascinating questions: is there something inherent within imperial systems that leads to overreach?—
Steven Desmyter,
Forbes.com,
16 Apr. 2025
Adjective
-
From better group notifications to zooming in on video calls, these are designed to make WhatsApp more engaging.—
Prakhar Khanna,
Forbes.com,
12 Apr. 2025
-
Hoppus’s new book is a funny, engaging and heartfelt reflection on everything from his childhood in the California desert and the rowdy early years of Blink-182, to the band’s trials and tribulations and eventually his battle with cancer.—
Rachel DeSantis,
People.com,
10 Apr. 2025
Adjective
-
Fear not, the lightweight spray formula features a quick absorbing texture that won’t weigh down hair.—
Kiana Murden,
Vogue,
15 Jan. 2025
-
See what anchors make meditating feel more absorbing, pleasurable, or easeful for you.—
Carolyn L. Todd,
SELF,
6 Mar. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Riveting.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/riveting. Accessed 22 Apr. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share