enticing

American  

[en-tahy-sing] / ɛnˈtaɪ sɪŋ /

adjective

1. attractive; alluring.

   The enticing aroma of cinnamon and cloves wafts from the kitchen.

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Usage

What does enticing mean? Enticing means having the effect of attracting, tempting, or drawing people in.Things that are described as enticing produce desire or attraction. The word is especially used to describe things that appeal to the senses. But something can be enticing for other reasons, as in The job offer was enticing due to the big salary increase, but I didn’t think the work would be fulfilling. The adjective enticing comes from the continuous tense (-ing form) of the verb entice, meaning to attract, allure, or tempt. (Entice is sometimes confused with the verb incite, which means to encourage, urge, prompt, or provoke someone to do something, especially something bad. Incite is usually used more negatively than entice.)Something that’s described as enticing is viewed as positive and desirous by the person whom it has enticed, but the word itself sometimes implies that such a thing serves to tempt people to do something that perhaps they shouldn’t, as in That chocolate is enticing, but I vowed to give up sweets for a while.Example: The enticing aroma of the roasted nuts draws people to the street cart.

Other Word Forms

• enticingly adverb
• enticingness noun
• nonenticing adjective
• nonenticingly adverb
• unenticing adjective

Etymology

Origin of enticing

entic(e) ( def. ) + -ing ² ( def. )

Example Sentences

For months, a gravity-defying rally had pushed gold and silver prices to all-time highs, enticing speculators and sparking fears that investors the world over were losing faith in traditional currencies like the dollar.

From The Wall Street Journal

The West Coast Blue Note to complement the one in New York’s West Village opened on Sunset Boulevard last August, enticing tourists and supper club enthusiasts.

From Los Angeles Times

Crane Stationery’s shortage of master engravers has not been caused by automation, but by the difficulty of enticing humans to learn such a high-precision craft.

From The Wall Street Journal

Bosses of the biggest US oil firms who attended a meeting at the White House last week acknowledged that Venezuela represented an enticing opportunity.

From BBC

Bosses of the biggest US oil firms who attended the meeting acknowledged that Venezuela, sitting on vast energy reserves, represented an enticing opportunity.

From BBC

Related Words

• alluring
• appealing
• captivating
• desirable
• engaging
• fascinating
• inviting
• tempting