Definition

1. Noun:

   • A sudden intense feeling or sensation of excitement, pleasure, or fear: A "thrill" is a wave of strong emotion, often a mix of excitement and slight fear, that is sudden and powerful.
   • An experience or event that causes such a feeling: A "thrill" can also refer to the thing itself that creates this intense feeling.

2. Verb:

   • To feel or cause to feel a sudden wave of intense emotion or excitement: As a verb, "thrill" means to experience or to make someone experience a sharp, exciting feeling.
   • To vibrate or quiver: In a more literal or poetic sense, it can mean to shake or tremble with a slight, rapid motion.

Usage Examples

• Noun:

  • The roller coaster ride was a real thrill. (The roller coaster was an experience that caused intense excitement.)
  • She felt a thrill of anticipation before her performance. (She experienced a sudden intense feeling of excited expectation.)

• Verb:

  • The adventure story thrilled the young readers. (The story caused the readers to feel intense excitement.)
  • His voice thrilled with emotion as he spoke. (His voice trembled or quivered with strong feeling.)

Advanced Usage

• "Thrill to something": To feel a thrill because of something.

  • The audience thrilled to the sound of the orchestra. (The audience felt a wave of excitement from the orchestra's sound.)

• "Thrill of the chase": The excitement involved in pursuing something desired.

  • For some collectors, it's more about the thrill of the chase than the item itself. (The excitement is in the pursuit.)

Variants and Related Words

• Thrilling (adj): Causing excitement and pleasure; exhilarating.
  • It was a thrilling finish to the game.
• Thriller (n): A novel, play, or film with an exciting plot, typically involving crime or espionage.
  • She enjoys reading psychological thrillers.

Synonyms

• Noun: Excitement, kick, rush, frisson, charge.
• Verb: Excite, exhilarate, electrify, stir.

Related Phrasal Verbs

• Thrill at: To be very excited by something.
  • She thrilled at the opportunity to travel abroad. (She was very excited by the opportunity.)

Related Idioms

• "Thrills and spills": The exciting and often dangerous parts of an activity.
  • The documentary showed all the thrills and spills of mountain climbing. (It showed the exciting and risky moments.)

Noun

1. something that causes you to experience a sudden intense feeling or sensation
   • the thrills of space travel
2. an almost pleasurable sensation of fright
   • a frisson of surprise shot through him
3. the swift release of a store of affective force
   • they got a great bang out of it
   • what a boot!
   • he got a quick rush from injecting heroin
   • he does it for kicks

Verb

1. fill with sublime emotion
   • The children were thrilled at the prospect of going to the movies
   • He was inebriated by his phenomenal success
2. tremble convulsively, as from fear or excitement
3. feel sudden intense sensation or emotion
   • he was thrilled by the speed and the roar of the engine
4. cause to be thrilled by some perceptual input
   • The men were thrilled by a loud whistle blow