Thrill Meaning
/θɹɪl/Definition, CEFR level B1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
Listen pronunciation
Definition
verbTo suddenly excite someone, or to give someone great pleasure; to (figuratively) electrify; to experience such a sensation.
verbTo (cause something to) tremble or quiver.
Sentence Examples
I felt a thrill of joy at the thought of seeing her soon.
It's certainly a thrill.
It was a daring adventure, full of thrill and excitement.
CEFR Practice Quiz
The ____ of riding the roller coaster made her scream with joy.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
Running his first full marathon gave him a huge ____ and he felt extremely proud of his great achievement today.
Word Origin & History
From Old English þȳrlian (“to pierce”), derived from þȳrel (“hole”) (archaic English thirl). Doublet of thirl (verb).
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"The cruel word her tender heart so thrilled, / That sudden cold did run through every vein."
— 1590, Edmund Spenser, “Book I, Canto VI”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, →OCLC, stanza 37:
"One love / That has possessed me; / One love / Thrilling me through"
— 1937, Frank Churchill, Leigh Harline, “One Song”, in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Walt Disney:
"he perced through his chaufed chest / With thrilling point of deadly yron brand"
— 1590, Edmund Spenser, “Book I, Canto III”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, →OCLC, stanza 42:
"I'd thrill my jauelin at the Grecian moysture"
— 1632, Thomas Heywood, The Iron Age:
"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."
— 1935, George Goodchild, chapter 1, in Death on the Centre Court:
Explore More B1 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
The ____ of riding the roller coaster made her scream with joy.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
Running his first full marathon gave him a huge ____ and he felt extremely proud of his great achievement today.