- arousing great interest or curiosity: an intriguing mystery
WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026
in•tri•guing /ɪnˈtrigɪŋ/USA pronunciation adj.
- very interesting;
fascinating:an intriguing mystery.
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
intriguing /ɪnˈtriːɡɪŋ/ adj
in•trigue /v. ɪnˈtrig; n. also ˈɪntrig/USA pronunciation
v., -trigued, -tri•guing, n.
v.
n.
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026v.
- to arouse the curiosity or interest of by unusual, new, or otherwise fascinating qualities:[~ + object]Fairy tales intrigue many children.
- to plan or plot secretly or in a dishonest way:[no object]The dukes intrigued against the king.
n.
- the use of dishonest or secret plots or plans:[uncountable]The king's court was full of intrigue.
- such a plot or plan:[countable]political intrigues.
in•trigue
(v. in trēg′;n. in trēg′, in′trēg),USA pronunciation v., -trigued, -tri•guing, n.
v.t.
v.i.
n.
in•tri′guer, n.
in•tri′guing•ly, adv.
v.t.
- to arouse the curiosity or interest of by unusual, new, or otherwise fascinating or compelling qualities;
appeal strongly to;
captivate:The plan intrigues me, but I wonder if it will work. - to achieve or earn by appealing to another's curiosity, fancy, or interest:to intrigue one's way into another's notice.
- to draw or capture:Her interest was intrigued by the strange symbol.
- to accomplish or force by crafty plotting or underhand machinations.
- [Obs.]to entangle.
- [Obs.]to trick or cheat.
v.i.
- to plot craftily or underhandedly.
- to carry on a secret or illicit love affair.
n.
- the use of underhand machinations or deceitful stratagems.
- such a machination or stratagem or a series of them;
a plot or crafty dealing:political intrigues. - a secret or illicit love affair.
- the series of complications forming the plot of a play.
- Latin intrīcāre to entangle; see intricate
- Italian intrigare
- French intriguer
- 1640–50
in•tri′guing•ly, adv.
- 1. interest, attract, fascinate. 7. manipulate. 9. 10. manipulation. 10. See conspiracy.
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
intrigue vb /ɪnˈtriːɡ/ ( -trigues, -triguing, -trigued)
- (transitive) to make interested or curious
- (intransitive) to make secret plots or employ underhand methods; conspire
- (intransitive) often followed by with: to carry on a clandestine love affair
- the act or an instance of secret plotting, etc
- a clandestine love affair
- the quality of arousing interest or curiosity; beguilement
'intriguing' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):