Tantalus

American  

[tan-tl-uhs] / ˈtæn tl əs /

noun

plural

Tantaluses

1. Classical Mythology. a Phrygian king who was condemned to remain in Tartarus, chin deep in water, with fruit-laden branches hanging above his head: whenever he tried to drink or eat, the water and fruit receded out of reach.

2. (lowercase) a stand or rack containing visible decanters, especially of wines or liquors, secured by a lock.

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Tantalus ¹ British  

/ ˈtæntələs /

noun

1. Greek myth a king, the father of Pelops, punished in Hades for his misdeeds by having to stand in water that recedes when he tries to drink it and under fruit that moves away as he reaches for it

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tantalus ² British  

/ ˈtæntələs /

noun

1. a case in which bottles may be locked with their contents tantalizingly visible

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Tantalus Cultural  

1. A king in classical mythology who, as punishment for having offended the gods, was tortured with everlasting thirst and hunger in Hades. He stood up to his chin in water, but each time he bent to quench his thirst, the water receded. There were boughs heavy with fruit over his head, but each time he tried to pluck them, the wind blew them out of reach.

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Discover More

Something is “tantalizing” if it is desirable but unattainable.

Example Sentences

Of course, “tantalizing” comes from Tantalus, the Greek mythological figure doomed to spend eternity with satisfaction just out of reach.

From Washington Post • Apr. 17, 2023

Tantalus stands in a pool of water that flees when he stoops for a drink, and he takes shade under trees whose fruits shy away when he tries to grab a bite.

From The New Yorker • Jan. 14, 2019

Like the mythological fruit of Tantalus, always just out of reach, its essence eludes us, too awful to fully comprehend no matter how passionately we seek to know and understand it.

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 6, 2018

Caught in a reverse telling of Tantalus, reaching for but never willing to pluck fruit from a bountiful tree, the businessman wasn’t alone in scoffing at Dubai’s future expansion.

From The Guardian • May 16, 2016

The cause of all the misfortunes was held to be an ancestor, a King of Lydia named Tantalus, who brought upon himself a most terrible punishment by a most wicked deed.

From "Mythology: Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes" by Edith Hamilton