Showing results for "enticing"

• present participle of entice.

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

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

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Etymology

Origin of enticing

entic(e) ( def. ) + -ing ² ( def. )

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Explanation

Something enticing is exciting and intriguing. Enticing things are tempting and make you want to have them. When a thing is enticing, it's kind of like it's saying "You want this, don't you? Yes you do!" The goal of almost all advertising is to be enticing — to try to entice you to buy the product. Any small glimpse or snippet of something that you like is probably enticing. Menus are another thing that are supposed to be enticing — you should want to order the food. If a movie trailer isn't enticing, then it didn't do its job.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

enticing

That much was clear last season, when fans were treated to the most enticing title race in years.

From BBC ● Nov. 2, 2026

A small shelter was placed in the middle of the trap that proved very enticing for Luna.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 17, 2026

Sure, for people with no health insurance, this is an enticing opportunity to effectively pay one month of coverage to get the silhouette of an annual physical, except without an actual doctor present.

From Slate ● Oct. 8, 2026

When Gemini 4 Argon does finally reach enterprise customers, it could boast an enticing price.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 1, 2026

Just thinking about it was so enticing Reynie almost didn’t send the message.

From "The Mysterious Benedict Society" by Trenton Lee Stewart

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Related Words

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

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