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spine-tingling

spine-tingling

1 6.0
Causes a strong feeling of fear or excitement
  • adjective
  • /ˈspaɪnˌtɪŋɡlɪŋ/
translation icon : escalofriante
  • As the roller coaster climbed higher, the spine-tingling anticipation kept us on the edge of our seats.
  • a spine-tingling moment
  • a spine-tingling experience
  • the most spine-tingling

Examples

  • It was a spine-tingling moment, one of many in the night.

    Blog text (17)
  • The spine-tingling suspense and scenes of the kids being attacked by everything from their own toys (what better than a clown?) to a tree in their yard took the regular horror tropes to a whole other level.

    Blog text (22)
  • Many of their experiences were extremely different, yet left the same spine-tingling feeling for each of the siblings.

    Blog text (22)
  • And that moment in the story, filmed in that fashion, was just spine-tingling.

    Blog text (15)
  • Defense lawyers, however, find one new paragraph especially spine-tingling:

    Academic text (2003)
  • This place is spine-tingling.

  • And then they hear the most gut-wrenching, spine-tingling, teeth-shattering ROAR ever.

    Fiction book (1998)
  • More spine-tingling thrills, more bone-crushing terror than you have ever seen before now, in The Corpse Grinders.

  • An exchange that sums this all up and also happens to be one of my favorite moments of the night came when Megyn Kelly goes to Rove and says: "Is this just math that you do as a Republican to make yourself feel better, or is this real?" The venom in her voice was spine-tingling.

    Blog text (1)
  • The spine-tingling atmosphere of the haunted house left everyone feeling a mix of excitement and fear.

Synonyms

thrilling
vsspine-tingling
102 3.6

Making you feel very excited, like on a fast roller coaster

also brings strong fear or an intense shiver through the body
electrifying
vsspine-tingling
16 4.5

Makes people feel a sudden, strong excitement

can be intense but may build slowly or include fear
bone-chilling
vsspine-tingling
5 7.0

Very cold or scary

usually expresses strong excitement or fear rather than literal cold
chilling
vsspine-tingling
1 5.3

Making you feel very scared or worried

also involves strong excitement alongside fear
shivery
vsspine-tingling
1 6.0

Making you feel afraid or nervous

causes a stronger, more intense sensory reaction than a mild tremble
shuddery
vsspine-tingling
1 8.5

That makes you shiver with fear

can cause strong excitement or fear without forcing a bodily shiver
shuddersome
vsspine-tingling
9.9

Causing strong fear or disgust that makes you shiver

focuses on strong excitement or fear rather than general disgust or discomfort
scary to the bone
vsspine-tingling
  • Informal
8.5

Making someone feel very afraid

can include excitement as well, not only deep, pure terror

Antonyms

721 1.0

Not interesting and making you feel tired or impatient

182 1.3

Not interesting or lively

How Thrilling

bloodcurdling
  • Informal
1 8.2
hair-raising
  • Informal
6 5.2
spine-tingling
1 6.0
thrilling
102 3.6
exciting
1.0
interesting
1.0

Surface Forms

spine-tingling positive

Morphology

spine-tingling = spine + tingling (transparent) = spine + tingle + ing

A straightforward compound of 'spine' + 'tingling' whose combined image (the spine experiencing a tingling sensation) directly yields the figurative meaning.

Etymology

Spine-tingling paints a small picture: spine means your backbone and tingle means a 'small, sharp feeling'. So, something spine-tingling is like a little feeling running down your spine, and that's why it makes you feel excited or scared.