Example
fascinating (adjective)
Extremely interesting.
I find the history of my city fascinating.
Written by Fizza Butool Zaidi and Ali Zaidi
13 alternatives
Extremely interesting.
I find the history of my city fascinating.
Interesting because it is unusual or mysterious.
The museum has an intriguing collection of old maps.
Holds your attention; often of teachers, speakers, books.
Our history teacher was so engaging that nobody looked at their phone.
So exciting you cannot stop watching or reading.
The series was so gripping that I watched it in two days.
Makes you think seriously.
It's a thought-provoking documentary about food waste.
Strongly holds attention; also convincing.
The writer makes a compelling case for shorter working hours.
Don't swap blindly: It often means convincing, as in 'compelling evidence'.
Holds your attention through charm or beauty.
The dancers gave a captivating performance.
Encourages new ideas and thinking.
University seminars are stimulating because everyone shares views.
Attractive or interesting enough to want.
Working from home is appealing to many parents.
Don't swap blindly: About attraction, not attention: an appealing job is one you would like.
Shows you something surprising you did not know.
Volunteering abroad was an eye-opening experience.
Fun and enjoyable to watch or read.
The talk was entertaining as well as useful.
Unusual and worth noticing.
My grandfather had a remarkable memory for names.
Strange or unusual; for people it means wanting to know.
There's a curious statue in the main square that nobody can explain.
Don't swap blindly: A 'curious book' is a strange book, not an interesting one. A 'curious person' wants to learn.
Paraphrasing
Band tip: the public IELTS Writing band descriptors for Lexical Resource describe Band 7 as using “less common lexical items” with “some awareness of style and collocation”. A synonym that changes your meaning or breaks a collocation works against you, so choose the word that fits the sentence, not the rarest one you know.
In context
The book I'd like to talk about is a history of my city's port. I expected it to be dull, but it was actually gripping. The author tells it through the lives of ordinary dockworkers, which I found really engaging, and the chapter on the 1950s floods was eye-opening, because I'd never heard about them at school.
Fascinating for very interesting, intriguing for mysterious, gripping for exciting stories, thought-provoking for ideas, engaging for people and lessons.
Interesting describes the thing (an interesting film). Interested describes how you feel (I am interested in films). The same pattern applies to fascinating and fascinated.
Not quite. A curious object is strange. A curious person wants to know things. It is not a straight swap for interesting.
Some, yes: compelling, thought-provoking and stimulating suit essays. Gripping and eye-opening are better in Speaking.
Practise
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