Intriguing

How to spell intriguing

10 letters · 3 syllables

How to pronounce intriguing

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does intriguing mean?

1. adjectiveArousing strong curiosity or fascination because of being unusual or mysterious.

Intriguing in a sentence

• The job advert made an intriguing offer of remote work and travel.

• She found the documentary's intriguing theory about the lost ship hard to forget.

Where does intriguing come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word traces back to the Latin verb intricare, meaning 'to entangle' or 'to perplex', which was formed from in- ('in, into') and tricae, a noun for 'tricks, trifles, or troublesome complications'. The verb passed into Italian as intrigare, where it carried the sense of plotting and scheming, and then into French as intriguer before reaching English in the seventeenth century. At first 'intrigue' meant to trick, deceive, or carry on a secret love affair, and only later softened into the modern idea of arousing curiosity or fascination. The adjective 'intriguing', meaning 'curiously fascinating', grew naturally out of that gentler sense. The buried Latin tricae also lurks inside the everyday words 'trick' and 'extricate', and remembering the 'trigue' core (keep the silent u after the g, as in 'fatigue' and 'league') is the surest way to avoid the common misspelling.

How the word is built

• intrigu- (from intrigue, to entangle or plot)
• -ing (adjective/present participle suffix)