temptation

[temp-tey-shuhn]

noun

1. the act of tempting; enticement or allurement.

   Synonyms: inducement, seduction, pull, attraction, lure

2. something that tempts, entices, or allures.

3. the fact or state of being tempted, especially to evil.

4. an instance of this.

5. (initial capital letter),  the temptation of Christ by Satan. Matthew 4.

temptation

/ tɛmpˈteɪʃən /

noun

1. the act of tempting or the state of being tempted

2. a person or thing that tempts

Other Word Forms

• temptational adjective
• nontemptation noun
• pretemptation noun
• supertemptation noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of temptation¹

First recorded in 1175–1225; Middle English temptacion, from Latin temptātiōn- (stem of temptātiō ) “a testing”; tempt, -ation

Example Sentences

When writing and performing with the group, she’ll sometimes turn her nationally delicate voice into a snarl or a howl — resisting any temptation to ever let it all get too sweet.

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“The temptation is to make the crew laugh,” they said.

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"We are empowering the State to kill," he warned, adding there would be a "temptation" for families to coerce dying relatives to take up assisted dying in order to pass on money and assets.

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On the one hand, there is a temptation within the SNP to circle the wagons around Hepburn.

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“The place was full of temptations of every kind, and it was hard to say no,” Borg writes.

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