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• v  hold fast or firmly
• v  to grip or seize, as in a wrestling match
• v  to render motionless, as with a fixed stare or by arousing terror or awe
• s  capable of arousing and holding the attention

• JFK was gripping, love it or hate it.
• Obama is cheerfully showing his visitors around, gripping the souvenir basketball he received from Hall of Famer Lenny Wilkens, explaining a snapshot taken the day he played pickup .
• It's a faux epic swell costumes, historically authentic settings, a certain amount of bustle and skulking, but very little dramatically gripping activity.

• grip
• grapple
• fascinate
• transfix
• spellbind
• absorbing
• engrossing
• fascinating
• riveting

News & Articles

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• Mecklenburg County Flood Mitigation Program Facing Challenges
  Gripping electronic images stored on Tim Trautman's desk top offer a compelling visual narrative into the hardship that high water brings to some of Charlotte's most flood-prone neighborhoods.
  June 15, 2013 - WBTV Charlotte
• Vintage NBA Finals Moments That Would Have Gone Viral If Twitter Existed
  Twitter: born March 2006. NBA Finals: born April 1947. Nowadays, Twitter explodes with photos, data, rumors and footage of the NBA Finals from fans, players, coaches and owners. So one can only imagine the lurid photos, sensational gossip and gripping taunts that would have made the tweeting rounds in NBA days of yore. One need imagine no longer. Time to anachronize Twitter and impose it into ...
  June 15, 2013 - Bleacher Report
• 'A Hijacking' review: Danish drama takes a sober look at Somali piracy and its victims
  A Hijackingis every bit as straightforward as its title. What we have here is a gripping story rather dryly told, a somewhat frustrating essay on Scandinavian passivity without the pathos of the similarly themed Oscar-winning Danish film "In a Better World." It's the helplessness that gets to you.
  June 14, 2013 - Zap2It

Quotes

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• Charlie Manuel in USA Today
  He was aggressive and he wasn't afraid of throwing the ball,said Phillies manager Charlie Manuel. "He's got a good changeup and a good breaking ball, but he was gripping it so tight. He did a super job, but he did it with one pitch."
• Oprah Winfrey in Arizona Republic
  It is so engaging, so gripping, so epic that I wanted absolutely everybody to share the joy of the story of Edgar Sawtelle,Winfrey told her audience.
• Lee Hsien Loong in International Herald Tribune
  The world is caught up in a financial storm, and dark clouds fill our immediate horizon,Lee said in a speech in Singapore. "The fear and panic gripping financial markets everywhere will take time to subside."