tantalizing
Americanadjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of tantalizing
Explanation
Something tantalizing is tempting: like a meal that smells amazing and makes you want to eat it. Tantalizing things are very appealing. When something is tantalizing, it makes you want it, even if it's totally out of reach. An exciting movie trailer could be tantalizing if it makes you want to see the movie. A little part of a song can be tantalizing if it tempts you to hear more. Smells — when they're good smells — can be very tantalizing. Just walking through a good restaurant, smelling and looking at the food, is a tantalizing experience.
Vocabulary lists containing tantalizing
The Giver
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"The Landlady" by Roald Dahl
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The Things They Carried
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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.
Gone are Aeolus’ bag of winds, which sends Odysseus back out to sea with Ithaca in tantalizing sight, and the Phaeacians, who help him finally make it home.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 21, 2026
The get-rich ethos that defines our time may be only rivaled by our perilously tantalizing obsession with vengeance.
From Salon ● Jul. 19, 2026
For the remaining field, Sinner’s sudden exit created a tantalizing chance.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 30, 2026
As job seekers face one of the toughest hiring markets in years, SpaceX is dangling a tantalizing prospect: It’s hiring.
From Barron's ● May 21, 2026
The one thing that kept her polite and attentive to Mrs. Coulter was that tantalizing hope of going north.
From "The Golden Compass" by Philip Pullman
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.
