Thrill

Pronunciation

• IPA: /θɹɪl/
• Rhymes: -ɪl

Origin

From Old English þyrlian.

Full definition of thrill

Verb

1. (ergative) To suddenly excite someone, or to give someone great pleasure; to (figuratively) electrify; to experience such a sensation.
• 1937, Frank Churchill and Leigh Harline, “One Song”, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Walt Disney:One love
  That has possessed me;
  One love
  Thrilling me through
• M. Arnoldvivid and picturesque turns of expression which thrill the reader with sudden delight
• SpenserThe cruel word her tender heart so thrilled,
  That sudden cold did run through every vein.
2. (ergative) To (cause something to) tremble or quiver.
3. (obsolete) To perforate by a pointed instrument; to bore; to transfix; to drill.
• SpenserHe pierced through his chafed chest
  With thrilling point of deadly iron brand.
4. (obsolete) To hurl; to throw; to cast.
• HeywoodI'll thrill my javelin.

Noun

1. A trembling or quivering, especially one caused by emotion.
• 1935, George Goodchild, Death on the Centre Court Chapter 1, She mixed furniture with the same fatal profligacy as she mixed drinks, and this outrageous contact between things which were intended by Nature to be kept poles apart gave her an inexpressible thrill.
2. A cause of sudden excitement; a kick.
3. (medicine) A slight quivering of the heart that accompanies a cardiac murmur.
4. A breathing place or hole; a nostril, as of a bird.

Derived terms