inviting
Americanadjective
adjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of inviting
Explanation
Inviting things are very appealing. Your host's inviting smile makes you truly feel welcomed and even a little bit charmed. On a hot summer day, nothing looks quite as inviting as a cool, sparkling swimming pool, and when you come inside after walking home in the snow, a cozy fire in the wood stove is also quite inviting. Something inviting promises comfort or pleasure. The word comes from invitation, from the Latin invitare, "invite, treat, or entertain," which originally meant "be pleasant toward."
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.
The next day, I sent her a message thanking her for inviting me.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 11, 2026
Last school year, after the lacrosse season ended, Casani sent him a text inviting him to return.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 9, 2026
Not that you could, really, when “Chronovisor” is so inviting.
From Salon ● Sep. 7, 2026
Hearn replied 24 hours later, inviting Taylor, Peters, and her mother Bridget to a London restaurant.
From BBC ● Sep. 2, 2026
Light spilled into the tunnel, bright and inviting, but I’m no fool.
From "Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky" by Kwame Mbalia
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.
