absorbing

adjective

ab·​sorb·​ing əb-ˈsȯr-biŋ How to pronounce absorbing (audio)
-ˈzȯr-
: fully taking one's attention : engrossing
an absorbing novel
absorbingly adverb

Examples of absorbing in a Sentence

shell collecting can be so absorbing that you don't notice the tide coming in
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
In this delightfully absorbing novel, an isolated house in the middle of a menacing desert landscape serves as the backdrop of a reality-TV competition. The New Yorker, New Yorker, 14 July 2025 Borrowing from a range of familiar sources, most notably the work of Octavia Butler, Thorne crafts a tense and absorbing story about the Freeman family’s attempt to survive in a world ravaged by disease, famine and a brutal civil war. Lovia Gyarkye, HollywoodReporter, 3 July 2025 Indeed, what begins as an absorbing evening of bridge is to turn into a more dangerous game altogether. Ashlee Conour, Chicago Tribune, 26 June 2025 In this absorbing period drama, Daniel Day-Lewis stars as a respected lawyer in 1870s New York who falls in love with his fiancée May's (Winona Ryder) cousin, Ellen (Michelle Pfeiffer). Lia Beck, EW.com, 25 June 2025 See All Example Sentences for absorbing

Word History

Etymology

from present participle of absorb

First Known Use

1806, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of absorbing was in 1806

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Absorbing.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/absorbing. Accessed 19 Jul. 2025.

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