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. )

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

The many opportunities now to strike it big are also enticing teenagers to download these apps and take a chance.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 17, 2026

Any generous cash provider like Allbirds’ $50 million investor appears all the more enticing in those circumstances, especially if the deal trade-offs seem like they’re cool and hip and with the times.

From Slate • Apr. 16, 2026

Utilities remain 6% cheaper than the overall index, a slightly less enticing discount than the 8% gap over the past decade.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 30, 2026

How enticing it is that so many of the other threats are his Ryder Cup team-mates - McIlroy, Fleetwood, MacIntyre or Rose as well as Ludvig Aberg.

From BBC • Mar. 23, 2026

Socrates first leads Gorgias up the garden path, enticing him to agree that “rhetoric is the artificer of persuasion, having this and no other business, and that this is her crown and end.”

From "Words Like Loaded Pistols" by Sam Leith

Related Words

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