entice
Americanverb (used with object)
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entices,
present (3rd person singular)
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enticed,
past participle, past
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enticing
present participle
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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enticementnoun
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enticernoun
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enticingnessnoun
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enticingadjective
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unenticedadjective
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enticinglyadverb
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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enticesimple
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enticessimple
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have enticedperfect
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has enticedperfect
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am enticingprogressive
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are enticingprogressive
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is enticingprogressive
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have been enticingperfect progressive
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has been enticingperfect progressive
Past
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enticedsimple
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had enticedperfect
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was enticingprogressive
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were enticingprogressive
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had been enticingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of entice
First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English enticen, from Old French enticier “to incite,” from unattested Vulgar Latin intitiāre, equivalent to Latin in- in- 2 + -titiāre, verbal derivative of unattested titius, for titiō “piece of burning wood”
Explanation
Let's say your friend wants to go to the movies and you don't want to. Your friend might try to entice you by offering to buy you popcorn and a soda. Entice means to persuade with promises of something. The word entice means to lure or tempt someone by promising them something that they like. It is a little manipulative but in a fairly straightforward way. You always know it when someone is enticing you. If a company really wants to hire you, they will entice you with a good salary and generous benefits. The promise of a gold star is often enough to entice small children to get good grades.
Vocabulary lists containing entice
Nothing But the Truth
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100 SAT Words Beginning with "E"
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And Then There Were None
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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:
Tying that experience to the new “Smugglers Gambit” game in “Fortnite” also can help entice players to become new visitors to the company’s theme parks, as well as keep fans engaged.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 17, 2026
Some critics of the policy warn that airlines could misuse this freedom to entice customers with low base fares and high fees.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 14, 2026
Iraola's sides have become known for fast and vertical counter-attacks but, with Liverpool looking to hold the ball more deliberately, these short passes in build-up are designed to entice opposition pressure before accelerating play.
From BBC ● Aug. 10, 2026
To entice value-driven shoppers, Tractor Supply is offering promotions and lowering prices on popular items, including pine shavings for animal bedding and premium pet-food.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 10, 2026
The boys went back to the tables, but they eyed Matt curiously, and one or two of them smiled and tried to entice him over.
From "The House of the Scorpion" by Nancy Farmer
The play, which won the Susan Smith Blackburn Prize this year, entices on the page despite seeming overstuffed and curiously decentralized.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 8, 2026
The result, the author concludes, “is in many ways a blend of prose and poetry. He writes with a lyrical flair that entices the reader to read aloud and almost sing the story being told.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 22, 2026
He argued they include private exchanges with lawyers, details about policy-making decisions and information that would reveal how the state entices companies to invest here.
From Salon ● Jul. 14, 2025
Other scientific evidence shows that synchronous male behavior entices groups of females, Hensley said.
From Science Daily ● Nov. 30, 2023
It’s this weakness, whatever it is, that entices me.
From "The Handmaid's Tale" by Margaret Atwood
Ma was enticed by a promise of quick returns and encouraged by what seemed like trappings of success, he said in an interview: Nguyen wore Chanel sunglasses, dressed in designer clothes and drove a Tesla.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 10, 2026
Wall Street firms have enticed retail investors into buying into the IPO — Fidelity, for example, reduced the minimum account balance allowing clients to buy into an IPO from $100,000-$500,000 to $2,000.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 16, 2026
Some hotels on the Strip are betting tourists will be enticed by all-inclusive packages this summer.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 23, 2026
"If you see me and Chris doing it, and the videos get millions of views, then obviously a lot of other content creators are enticed to make their own video about it as well."
From BBC ● May 22, 2026
And the more he enticed Joe to talk, the more Pocock began to plumb the inner workings of this enigma of a boy.
From "The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics" by Daniel James Brown
They might be poseurs tossing around references to Ginsberg and Bukowski, but the welcome mat the group offers Ed is enticing and inspiring.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 14, 2026
Job seekers are also taking steps to edit terms out of their profiles that might be less enticing to employers today than just a few years ago.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 13, 2026
Such are the enticing promises of peptides, an increasingly buzzy class of substances touted by influencers and celebrities as the key to an optimized life.
From Barron's ● Jul. 23, 2026
Not because they are especially impressed by where Williams are, even if the team insist progress is being made across the board, but because their options elsewhere are not that enticing.
From BBC ● Jun. 30, 2026
The most enticing tidbit was that, sometime in 1968, soon after returning from Vietnam, Ellsberg had begun seeing a psychiatrist.
From "Most Dangerous: Daniel Ellsberg and the Secret History of the Vietnam War" by Steve Sheinkin
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.
