What does intriguing mean?
Word: Intriguing
Part of Speech: Adjective
Meaning: Intriguing means so interesting or unusual that you want to know more about it.
Synonyms: interesting, absorbing, curious, compelling
Antonyms: dull, boring, uninteresting
Word origin: Formed from a verb that English borrowed from French; the Italian word behind it meant to tangle or puzzle.
How do you spell intriguing?
Syllables: in - tri - guing
Tricky part: The verb's final e drops before ing, but the u stays: think of argue and arguing.
Watch out for: intrigueing, intriging
Memory tip: When ing arrives, the silent e steps aside; the u is not decoration, it keeps the g hard, so it stays.
Intriguing in a sentence
Example 1: The museum has an intriguing display of coins from the Mughal period.
Example 2: It is intriguing that some frogs can survive being frozen in winter.
Example 3: Riya found an intriguing note tucked inside an old library book.
Fun Fact
Its first meaning in English was to trick or puzzle someone; the sense of stirring someone's curiosity arrived much later.
Practise the CREST Way
Spellacadabra
Choose the misspelt word:
a) intreeguing
b) plaguing
c) fatiguing
d) arguing
Show answer
a) intreeguing. The ee sound after intr is spelt with a plain i.
Word Tally
Give 2 marks for each correctly spelt word. How many marks will the list get?
intriguing, dialogue, colleague, lauguage, vague
a) 8
b) 6
c) 4
d) 10
Show answer
a) 8. Language has no u after the a; the other four words are right, so the list earns eight.
Word Champ
Choose the correct word for the blank:
A story with a strange beginning that makes you want to read on is ________.
a) infuriating
b) intimidating
c) indulgent
d) intriguing
Show answer
d) intriguing. Infuriating makes you angry and intimidating makes you nervous; a story that makes you curious is intriguing.
Word Puzzle
Match the words with the correct options:
1. intriguing 2. hostile 3. scarce a. plentiful b. friendly c. tedious
a) 1-a, 2-b, 3-c
b) 1-b, 2-c, 3-a
c) 1-c, 2-b, 3-a
d) 1-c, 2-a, 3-b
Show answer
c) 1-c, 2-b, 3-a. Each word meets its opposite: an intriguing book against a tedious one, a hostile crowd against a friendly one, scarce water against plentiful water.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. Which of these would most likely be called intriguing?
a) a locked box with no key
b) an empty classroom
c) a sheet of blank paper
d) a plate of plain rice
Show answer
a) a locked box with no key
2. A teacher who calls a pupil's question intriguing thinks it is ____.
a) rude and off the topic
b) already answered in class
c) worth exploring further
d) too simple to answer
Show answer
c) worth exploring further
