Dictionary

pulse-pounding en · ADJ

Pronunciation

• /ˈpʌls ˈpaʊndɪŋ/ (General-American, Received-Pronunciation)
• (Australia) audio

Meanings

1. That increases the heartbeat rate, especially as a result of excitement or fear.
   • All the thrills, chills and spills of pulse-pounding sport adventure! […] 150,000 words of thrill-packed sports text gives you the pulse-pounding story … how the Big Ten grew from a small-time bunch of upstart Westerners into the nation's mightiest collegiate conference … 1967 September, “Announcing … The Big Ten [advertisement]”, in Robert G. Forman, editor, The Michigan Alumnus, volume LXXIV, number 1, Ann Arbor, Mich.: Alumni Association of the University of Michigan, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 30:
   • Kevin Williamson’s script justly deserves praise for its cleverness and tactic of treating the audience like it was in on the joke, but ultimately, it was [Wes] Craven’s ability to still deliver a pulse-pounding horror flick and ideal date movie that drove the film so far into the black. 2017 October 27, Alex McLevy, “Making a Killing: The Brief Life and Bloody Death of the Post-Scream Slasher Revival”, in The A.V. Club, archived from the original on 05 Mar 2018:
   • Suddenly a great, dark shadow passed between the pulse-pounding blasts and my miry form. I saw in astonishment that Nekbael flew along the dim hallway on monstrous bat wings. The demon vampire ripped the pulse-pounding beamer from the hands of the evil pimp. 2003, W. C. Leadbeater, “Return of the Dread Mutant Killer Glaucoma”, in The Mind-warp Era: A Novel, Lincoln, Neb.: iUniverse, →ISBN, page 114:
   • The superbly crafted suspense thriller that director Jonathan Demme has made from Thomas Harris's taut best-selling novel The Silence of the Lambs slams you like a sudden blast of bone-chilling, pulse-pounding terror. 1991 February 14, Peter Travers, “The Silence of the Lambs [film review]”, in Rolling Stone, archived from the original on 05 Dec 2017:

Forms

Antonyms

prosaic · snoozeworthy · dull · straightforward · vanilla · corny · lifeless · drowsy · boring · languid · uninteresting · weaksauce · beat · monotonous · commonplace · pedantic · uncool · prosy · flat · drab · insipid · soporific · boring · plodding · humdrum · static · wooden · ho-hum · dull as dishwater · longsome · stuffy · bland · basic · colourless · dreich · wan · tedious · blah · heavy going · vapid · pedestrian · no fun at parties · dull · stodgy · mindless · plain · banal · cold · lame · mundane · lackluster · uninteresting

Synonyms

warm · jiggy · electric · banging · spine-tingling · alarming · impressive · pulsating · flaysome · stirring · distracting · horrible · hair-raising · terrorsome · dreadful · hot · sensational · hair-curling · horrid · heartstopping · awful · flesh-crawling · engrossing · rip-roaring · frightensome · scary · pulse-pounding · alacrifying · off the chain · kicky · terrible · pulse-pounding · terrifying · spine-tingling · butt-clenching · horripilating · ghastly · shocking · shocking · inspiring · intoxicating · scaring · exciting · exhilarating · heady · hair-curling · absorbing · enthralling · edge-of-the-seat · enlivening · exciting · heart-pounding · electrifying · frightful · affreux · horrific · freaky · fearful · gripping · ghostly · startling · stonking · sizzling · exhilarative · thrilly · dramatic · dismayful · eldritch · slam-bang · mind-blowing · moving · stimulating · bracing · exciteful · fascinating · frightening · compelling · awesome · rousing · formidable · grisly · riveting · buttock-clenching · heartswelling · terrifying · horrifying · invigorating · buggish · skin-crawling · hair-raising · thrilling · appalling · explosive