- present participle of entice.
enticing
Americanadjective
Usage
What does enticing mean? Enticing means having the effect of attracting, tempting, or drawing people in. Things that are described as enticing produce desire or attraction. The word is especially used to describe things that appeal to the senses. But something can be enticing for other reasons, as in The job offer was enticing due to the big salary increase, but I didn’t think the work would be fulfilling. The adjective enticing comes from the continuous tense (-ing form) of the verb entice, meaning to attract, allure, or tempt. (Entice is sometimes confused with the verb incite, which means to encourage, urge, prompt, or provoke someone to do something, especially something bad. Incite is usually used more negatively than entice.)Something that’s described as enticing is viewed as positive and desirous by the person whom it has enticed, but the word itself sometimes implies that such a thing serves to tempt people to do something that perhaps they shouldn’t, as in That chocolate is enticing, but I vowed to give up sweets for a while. Example: The enticing aroma of the roasted nuts draws people to the street cart.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of enticing
Explanation
Something enticing is exciting and intriguing. Enticing things are tempting and make you want to have them. When a thing is enticing, it's kind of like it's saying "You want this, don't you? Yes you do!" The goal of almost all advertising is to be enticing — to try to entice you to buy the product. Any small glimpse or snippet of something that you like is probably enticing. Menus are another thing that are supposed to be enticing — you should want to order the food. If a movie trailer isn't enticing, then it didn't do its job.
Vocabulary lists containing enticing
Sugar Changed the World
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"Simon's Saga," Vocabulary from Episode 12
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I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
“The higher that yields go — for at least new money — it becomes more enticing to think about putting money into bonds,” Rehling said.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 17, 2026
The positions of the full-backs help by enticing narrow opponents to be stretched wider.
From BBC ● Sep. 13, 2026
He’s also enticing voters to join his campaign.
From Salon ● Aug. 20, 2026
That strategy led to decisions like making safety features optional, including tools designed to combat endless scrolling or limit enticing notifications.
From Barron's ● Aug. 19, 2026
Their light dances on the jewels and piles of gold, making the treasure that much more enticing.
From "Challenger Deep" by Neal Shusterman
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
