enticing

American

[en-tahy-sing] / ɛnˈtaɪ sɪŋ /

adjective

attractive; alluring.

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

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

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Gulf assets are an enticing target for Iran.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 1, 2026

The tension between the anti-nuclear artwork and its artists’ familial ties to the production of the very technology they reject is an enticing dance of its own.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 27, 2026

But he did lead Newcastle through their group in the Challenge Cup to set up an enticing last-16 tie against French giants La Rochelle next month.

From BBC • Mar. 16, 2026

Bigger towns have been particularly enticing for us city slickers, places like Seattle, New Orleans, Denver and Austin, Texas.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 6, 2026

There was a small keg of salted fish in the storeroom; its enticing aroma always filled the place, but Gebu kept it sealed.

From "The Golden Goblet" by Eloise Jarvis McGraw

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023