interesting

adjective in·ter·est·ing \ ˈin-t(ə-)rə-stiŋ ; ˈin-tə-ˌre- , ˈin-ˌtre- ; ˈin-tər- \

Updated on: 1 Dec 2017

Definition of interesting

: holding the attention : arousing interest

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interestingness

noun

See interesting defined for English-language learners

See interesting defined for kids

Examples of interesting in a Sentence

This is one of the most interesting books I've read all year.
It will be interesting to see how she decides to spend the money.
This building has an interesting history.
I don't find politics very interesting.
I found it interesting to learn that she had once lived in California.
Most of what he said wasn't interesting to me.

Recent Examples of interesting from the Web

Some of those differences were notable and interesting but harmless.

— erik spanberg, The Christian Science Monitor, "'Friends Divided' explores the remarkable, stormy friendship of Thomas Jefferson and John Adams," 5 Nov. 2017
And having a killer sneaker boot in your footwear arsenal is good way to keep it interesting.

— tyler watamanuk, GQ, "Under Armour Just Made Our New Favorite Sneakerboot," 4 Nov. 2017
The campus reps from Morgan Lewis seemed smart, interesting. and interested in her.

— sam wood, Philly.com, "Icon: Morgan Lewis' first female chair, Jami Wintz McKeon, sleeps four hours a night," 2 Nov. 2017
Noon to Midnight November 18 If last year was any indication, Disney Hall’s smorgasbord is going to be equal parts interesting and weird and great.

— marielle wakim, Los Angeles Magazine, "Here’s a List of the 13 Best Things to Do in L.A. in November," 1 Nov. 2017
Throw in the fumble recovery to open the second half, and the Pirates defense made plays to keep it interesting.

— jr radcliffe, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Five takeaways: New Berlin Eisenhower 38, Pewaukee 7," 27 Oct. 2017
Our customers have found so many creative and interesting uses for the Mac mini.

— samuel axon, Ars Technica, "The Mac mini isn’t dead yet, says Tim Cook," 19 Oct. 2017
To some pollsters and analysts, that backdrop makes for an interesting and potentially competitive gubernatorial race.

— kevin rector, baltimoresun.com, "Democratic candidates for governor take aim at Hogan, Trump," 13 Oct. 2017
Oculus also talked about its more interesting and expansive all-in-one headset called, for now, Project Santa Cruz.

— eric limer, Popular Mechanics, "'Oculus Go' Is a $200 Standalone Headset," 11 Oct. 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'interesting.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

The Pronunciation and History of interesting

There are a number of ways to say interesting. It can have three syllables or four; it can have an accent only on the first syllable, or it can also have a secondary accent on the "res"; the first "e" can get ignored, resulting in a second syllable of "tres" rhyming with dress; or the second "e" can be ignored, resulting in a syllable that sounds like terse. All of these various pronunciations are well-established and occur in the speech of educated, native speakers of English.

The word interesting originally meant "of concern"; it was a synonym of important. It comes from the verb interest, which in its original use meant "to induce or persuade to participate or engage." If you were interested in something, you were not willing to be a bystander; you felt the need to participate or engage.