tempt
Americanverb (used with object)
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to entice or allure to do something often regarded as unwise, wrong, or immoral.
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to attract, appeal strongly to, or invite.
The offer tempts me.
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to render strongly disposed to do something.
The book tempted me to read more on the subject.
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to put (someone) to the test in a venturesome way; provoke.
to tempt one's fate.
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Obsolete. to try or test.
verb
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to attempt to persuade or entice to do something, esp something morally wrong or unwise
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to allure, invite, or attract
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to give rise to a desire in (someone) to do something; dispose
their unfriendliness tempted me to leave the party
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to risk provoking (esp in the phrase tempt fate )
Related Words
Tempt, seduce may both mean to allure or entice to something unwise or wicked. To tempt is to attract by holding out the probability of gratification or advantage, often in the direction of that which is wrong or unwise: to tempt a man with a bribe. To seduce is literally to lead astray, sometimes from that which absorbs one or demands attention, but oftener, in a moral sense, from rectitude, chastity, etc.: to seduce a person away from loyalty.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of tempt
First recorded in 1175–1225; Middle English from Latin temptāre “to probe, feel, test, tempt”
Explanation
To tempt is to lure or entice. You might tempt your runaway dog back inside with pieces of cheese. The verb tempt often has negative implications: "Don't let those bullies tempt you into picking on smaller kids!" When something tempts you, it's often with the knowledge that it's not the best idea, however attractive it might be. Tempt was originally a religious term, meaning "to entice to evil or sin," while today it's more likely to be a slice of cake that tempts us than the devil.
Vocabulary lists containing tempt
Achievement First 5th Grade IA 1 Words
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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.
Tempt me with a simplistic promise — lower grocery prices overnight!
From Salon • Jan. 5, 2025
Tempt me with a simplistic promise — lower grocery prices overnight!
From Salon • Jan. 5, 2025
Gardeners can pore over Perennials Preferred, Rockeries, Principles of Weed Control, animal lovers over such volumes as How to Tempt a Fish, How to Live with a Cat.
From Time Magazine Archive
"Himself. And a chauffeur in livery. Going to drive me around and have breakfast in the Bois. Hampers. Got it all at Zelli's. Dozen bottles of Mumms. Tempt you?"
From "The Sun Also Rises" by Ernest Hemingway
Then cease from arms; Tempt him not farther to pursue his blow, And be content to bear those pains we know.
From The works of John Dryden, now first collected in eighteen volumes. Volume 05 by Scott, Walter, Sir
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.
