tantalize
Americanverb (used with object)
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tantalizes,
present (3rd person singular)
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tantalized,
past participle, past
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tantalizing
present participle
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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tantalizationnoun
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tantalizernoun
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tantalizingadjective
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untantalizedadjective
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tantalizinglyadverb
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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tantalizesimple
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tantalizessimple
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have tantalizedperfect
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has tantalizedperfect
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am tantalizingprogressive
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are tantalizingprogressive
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is tantalizingprogressive
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have been tantalizingperfect progressive
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has been tantalizingperfect progressive
Past
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tantalizedsimple
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had tantalizedperfect
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was tantalizingprogressive
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were tantalizingprogressive
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had been tantalizingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of tantalize
First recorded in 1590–1600; Tantal(us) + -ize
Explanation
When you tantalize people, you torment them in a specific way — by showing them something they want but can’t have. You could tantalize people with cavities and nut allergies by eating pecan pie in front of them. The word tantalize comes from a Greek story about a guy named Tantalus who was so evil that the gods of the underworld came up with a special punishment just for him (they were really good at that). They put him in a pool of water that drained away every time he bent down to drink. There was also a tree above his head that whisked away its juicy apples every time he tried to pick one. So, it only makes sense that to tantalize someone is to torture them with what they cannot have.
Vocabulary lists containing tantalize
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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.
See Examples For:
To tantalize and tease prospective viewers, the marketing team behind “Babygirl” has leaned all the way in, emphasizing the movie’s Christmas Day release in promotional materials that demand audiences “get everything you want” this holiday.
From Salon ● Dec. 30, 2024
No matter the answer, Gef has continued to vex and tantalize for decades.
From National Geographic ● Sep. 19, 2023
It’s a statement, all right — not a confirmation or a denial, but a seizing of the moment to tantalize the world with possibility: So what if they were?
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 23, 2023
Invisible curls of hickory smoke tantalize your nostrils even before you take that first bite.
From Washington Post ● Jan. 9, 2023
The dense brown forest on either side never seemed to vary, and ahead there was only a new bend in the river to tantalize her.
From "The Witch of Blackbird Pond" by Elizabeth George Speare
The possibility tantalizes the philosopher, but even more so the astronomer: planets around red dwarfs are easier to find than around any other type of star.
From Scientific American ● Sep. 14, 2023
The result is a quick, comforting meal that tantalizes the taste buds.
From Washington Post ● Jan. 18, 2023
Sky Wahl, who plays Snout, tantalizes the air with chimes, cymbals, Tibetan tingsha bells and a hunting horn, among other instruments.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 14, 2021
As for online dating itself, that's even worse because it tantalizes with the promise of connection, but in order to stay in business, the algorithm for these apps are designed to be ineffective.
From Salon ● Feb. 27, 2020
The atom provides an organizing principle for modern physics—and it tantalizes us with the prospect of controlling matter and energy.
From "The Gene" by Siddhartha Mukherjee
She kept fans tantalized with rumors that a penchant for long-sleeved shirts in her later years concealed two full sleeves of tattoos.
From Salon ● Aug. 25, 2026
Cancer vaccines have long tantalized and frustrated researchers.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 17, 2026
Banged-up Ja’Marr Chase has to be tantalized that Texans are hurting at safety and are vulnerable in middle.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 9, 2023
The idea has tantalized urban planners and utopian dreamers for centuries.
From New York Times ● Aug. 31, 2023
The business of the mattress box was one of the things that most tantalized Dewey.
From "In Cold Blood" by Truman Capote
The growing popularity of these products hinges on a tantalizing hook: bond-like yield payments that may, in some cases, exceed 15% as a target.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 18, 2026
"I think the great significance of these findings, and the tantalizing picture that it promotes, is a great motivation and reason to further examine solid-state nitrogen physics at very low temperatures," Umurhan said.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 17, 2026
But it can still lay claim to being a flagship roller coaster, one with enough mechanical and storytelling hitches to give it a tantalizing oddness.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 11, 2026
Parton did not offer specifics about how such arrangements could work, or how her estate would handle the rights issues, but it offers the tantalizing prospect of Parton tunes for years to come.
From Barron's ● Aug. 26, 2026
Unlike Miss Preston's, there is no lively chatter or the tantalizing smells of supper.
From "Dread Nation" by Justina Ireland
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.
