suspenseful
Also found in: Thesaurus, Legal, Idioms.
sus·pense
(sə-spĕns′)n.
1. Anxiety or apprehension resulting from an uncertain, undecided, or mysterious situation: The suspense as they were announcing the winners was unbearable.
2. The quality in a work of narrative art, such as a novel or film, that causes the audience to experience pleasurable excitement and anticipation regarding an outcome.
3. Archaic The state or quality of being undecided, uncertain, or indecisive: the suspense of judgment.
[Middle English suspense, delay, uncertainty, from Old French souspense, from souspens, suspended, from Latin suspēnsus, past participle of suspendere, to suspend; see suspend.]
sus·pense′ful adj.
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:
Switch to new thesaurus
Adj. | 1. | suspenseful - (of a situation) characterized by or causing suspense tense - in or of a state of physical or nervous tension |
Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.
suspenseful
adjective thrilling, exciting, gripping, Hitchcockian, cliffhanging a suspenseful and sinister tale
Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002
Translations
Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005
Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005
suspenseful
adj → spannend
Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007