Exciting Adjectives: Thrilling, Gripping and More

The trip was exciting. The film was exciting. The new job is exciting. Three sentences, one word, and the reader has no idea what the trip, the film or the job were actually like. Exciting is a good everyday word, but it is also a placeholder, and learners tend to lean on it long after they know better ones. This guide gives you exciting adjectives for specific situations, and it settles the question that confuses many learners: when to say exciting and when to say excited.

What "exciting" means

Wiktionary defines the adjective exciting as creating or producing excitement. That is all it says, and it is the reason the word is so general. It does not say what kind of excitement, how strong it is or whether the feeling is pleasant. The more exact words below each add one of those details.

Exciting vs. excited

Before you pick a synonym, check which of the two forms you need. Both come from the verb excite, and both are participles used as adjectives.

• Exciting describes the thing or event that causes the feeling. An exciting adventure. The participle is active: the adventure excites someone.
• Excited describes the person who has the feeling. An excited child. The participle is passive: the child has been excited by something.

The reference article on participles uses an exciting adventure as its example of an attributive participle, a participle placed before a noun to describe it. The same pattern works for many pairs: boring and bored, surprising and surprised, tiring and tired.

• The match was exciting, so the fans were excited.
• I am excited about the trip, and the trip is exciting.

A quick test: if you can ask what is causing the feeling?, the thing that causes it takes -ing, and the person who feels it takes -ed.

Exciting adjectives for a rush

When you want the sense of a physical or emotional rush, these are the strongest everyday choices.

• Thrilling: causing a feeling of sudden excitement. A thrilling ride. It is a good fit for sports, rides, races and sudden turns of events. It is also the present participle of the verb thrill, so you can say The race thrilled the crowd.
• Exhilarating: refreshingly thrilling, with a sense of energy and joy. An exhilarating walk along the cliffs. It often goes with the outdoors or with a challenge you have just met.
• Electrifying: exciting or astonishing in a way that seems to charge the air. An electrifying performance. The literal sense is about electricity, and the figurative sense is the one writers use.
• Heart-pounding and breathtaking: vivid, informal and literary choices for a moment that leaves you short of breath.

Exciting adjectives for a story

For a book, a film or a talk that you cannot put down, a different set of words works better.

• Gripping: holding your attention, and feeling exciting. A gripping action film. Close synonyms are absorbing and fascinating.
• Riveting: commanding the attention of an audience. A riveting firework display. Wiktionary gives that very example. It suggests you cannot look away.
• Compelling: so interesting that you want to keep reading or watching. A compelling argument. It can describe ideas as well as stories.
• Action-packed: full of exciting events, most often used for films and games.
• Fast-paced: moving quickly from one event to the next.

If the excitement comes from suspense, tense and suspenseful are more exact than thrilling.

Exciting adjectives for a plan or an opportunity

For news, goals and chances, the excitement is about the future, not about a rush.

• Promising: showing signs of future success. A promising start.
• Stimulating: encouraging thought and energy. A stimulating discussion.
• Inspiring: making you want to try something. An inspiring speech.
• Rewarding: satisfying because of what it gives you back.

These are good for work and study, where exciting can sound a little childish. In an email, an interesting opportunity is more formal than an exciting opportunity, and a better fit for some readers. The guide to formal and informal vocabulary shows how to judge it.

Excitement in speech and in writing

The words above change with the situation. In speech, people often use short, informal reactions such as awesome, amazing or so cool, and nobody minds. In writing, those words say very little, because the reader cannot hear your voice. A review that calls a film amazing tells the reader about your reaction but nothing about the film. A review that calls it gripping tells them it holds attention, and one that calls it fast-paced tells them how it moves.

In an email or a report, aim for words that name what you value. If a plan is exciting because it could save money, say promising and add the figure. If a talk was exciting because it changed your mind, say stimulating and say what changed. The adjective points the reader in a direction, and the detail does the rest.

Do this for your own feelings too. I am excited is fine, but I cannot wait to start or I am looking forward to it sounds more natural in many settings, and thrilled is a good step up when you want to show strong happiness. Notice that thrilled and excited describe a person, like the -ed participles in the earlier section, while thrilling describes the cause.

Choosing the right word

Avoid stacking

It is tempting to write an exciting, thrilling, exhilarating ride, but the three words repeat each other. Choose the strongest one and give the reader a detail that shows the feeling, such as the ride dropped so fast that I forgot to scream. The same advice works for other feelings. In the guide to synonyms for happy, the same sorting method helps you pick a word for joy instead of repeating happy.

Practice set

Choose the best word: exciting, excited, thrilling, gripping, riveting.

1. The children were ______ about the school trip.
2. The roller coaster was a ______ ride.
3. I could not put down that ______ detective novel.
4. The news about the new job is very ______.
5. The audience watched, ______, as the fireworks lit up the sky.
6. Which of these describes a person: exciting or excited?

Answers: 1. excited (the children feel it). 2. thrilling (a sudden rush). 3. gripping (holds your attention). 4. exciting (the news causes the feeling). 5. riveting (commands the attention of the audience). 6. Excited.

Making it stick

Learn exciting words by the situation they fit. When you read a book or watch a film, notice which word the reviewer chooses and why. Keep the sentence along with the word, and review it later. Spaced review means riveting and exhilarating come back just before you forget them, so they are ready when you need to write.

How Wordabulary fits in

Wordabulary finds your level with a placement assessment, then gives you practice and quizzes matched to it. Each word page shows the definition, an example sentence and how close words differ, and you can listen to each word in British or American English.