breath-catching

adjective2

1. •
   Inspiring awe or deep admiration; impressive.

   • The theory was breath-catching, but quickly fell apart when the accountant could give no account of what Sibyl might have done with Theresa's body. — 2004
2. •
   Extremely frightening or overwhelming.

   • To cap the feat, their leader made a breath-catching descent by what mountain men call a rappel, riding down a rope almost 400 feet. — 1964