heart-stoppingadj.
/ˈhɑːtˌstɒpɪŋ/, U.S. /ˈhɑrtˌstɑpɪŋ/ 1. Tense or exciting; full of suspense; dramatic.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > belief > uncertainty, doubt, hesitation > state of uncertainty, suspense > [adjective] > full of suspense
suspenseful1656
heart-stopping1888
edge-of-your-seat1922
cliff-hanging1930
cliff-hanging1945
nail-biting1946
cardiac1961
1888 Era 26 May 22/4 They say trapeze business is getting old. Theirs is not. It's a heart-stopping act which draws the people.
1942 Times 23 Feb. 3/3 For sheer breath-taking and heart-stopping desperation, I have never known the equal of those Igorots riding the tanks.
1971 Maclean's Oct. 39/3 He had trouble eliminating his spin-outs, those heart-stopping moments when the car slithers in circles and semi-circles on the track.
2007 A. Bance in tr. C. Schönhaus Forger (2008) Pref. p. x The story of how he became an adept forger.., his heart-stopping brushes with the Gestapo..and the breathtaking episode of his final escape, is not only exciting but also uplifting and moving.
2. Remarkable in some way; moving, breathtaking.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > kind or sort > individual character or quality > quality of being special or extraordinary > [adjective] > special, extraordinary, or unusual
sunderlepeOE
specialc1325
strangec1330
undeemousa1400
outragec1400
singularc1400
stravagant1565
unusual1582
extraordinarya1586
remarkable1593
exordinary1601
peculiar1608
stupendous1640
eccentricala1652
particular1665
out-of-the-way1675
uncommon1705
awfy1724
exceptionable1801
tremendous1831
exceptional1846
exceptive1849
exceptionary1850
spesh1874
heart-stopping1891
off-brand1929
wild1955
cracker1964
1891 Atlantic Monthly Nov. 652/1 Even here, where he keeps physically rather close to his pensive model, he adds metaphor after metaphor, many a lyrical wail, and a heart-stopping pathos all unwarranted and new.
1948 J. Maresca My Flag is Down xvi. 98 That's the way it struck me when I picked up a cute, heart-stopping young lady on 49th Street and Broadway.
1987 R. Hall Kisses of Enemy (1990) i. vi. 39 He..opened his throat and sang heartstopping high notes. Even Buchanan, tone deaf as he was, caught the power of the moment.
2006 A. Perry At Some Disputed Barricade iv. 100 She described the familiar, heart-stopping beauty of the countryside.
Derivatives
ˈheart-ˌstoppingly adv.
ΚΠ
1930 D. Blanding Hula Moons 184 Yes, I was scared..scared as one is heart-stoppingly scared at the top of a chute-the-chutes.
1939 T. T. Flynn Brother Murder in O. Penzler Black Lizard Big Bk. of Pulps (2007) 1093/1 She was heart-stoppingly natural, even to the little splash of good-natured freckles still luring along the bridge of a small tippity nose.
1977 Courier News (Blytheville, Arkansas) 6 Sept. 4/2 A cab ride out to the airport can be pretty exciting and a stroll after dark can be heart-stoppingly thrilling.
2006 Psychologies (U.K. ed.) July 153/1 We..took the shuttle boat across the lake in the evenings to the..Culture and Congress Centre for a series of heart-stoppingly good piano recitals.
This is a new entry (OED Third Edition, June 2013; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
<
adj.1888