tantalize

[tan-tl-ahyz]

verb (used with object), tan·ta·lized, tan·ta·liz·ing.

to torment with, or as if with, the sight of something desired but out of reach; tease by arousing expectations that are repeatedly disappointed.

Also especially British, tan·ta·lise.

Origin of tantalize

First recorded in 1590–1600; Tantal(us) + -ize

Related formstan·ta·li·za·tion, nountan·ta·liz·er, nounun·tan·ta·lized, adjective

Synonyms for tantalize

provoke, taunt, tempt; frustrate.

Antonyms for tantalize

satisfy.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for tantalise

Historical Examples of tantalise

And why do you tantalise me by making me dream of an unattainable perfection?
In Brief Authority
F. Anstey
"You begin by being heavenly to people—and then you tantalise them."
Regiment of Women
Clemence Dane
They tantalise the fancy, but never reach the head nor touch the heart.
Table-Talk
William Hazlitt
Surely, that sweet strain was not intended to tantalise him.
The Maroon
Mayne Reid
You tantalise me to death with talking of conversations by the fireside.
Charlotte Bronte and Her Circle
Clement K. Shorter

British Dictionary definitions for tantalise

tantalize

tantalise

verb

(tr) to tease or make frustrated, as by tormenting with the sight of something greatly desired but inaccessible

Derived Formstantalization or tantalisation, nountantalizer or tantaliser, nountantalizing or tantalising, adjectivetantalizingly or tantalisingly, adverb

Word Origin for tantalize

C16: from the punishment of Tantalus

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for tantalise

tantalize

1590s, from Latin Tantalus, from Greek Tantalos, king of Phrygia, son of Zeus, punished in the afterlife (for an offense variously given) by being made to stand in a river up to his chin, under branches laden with fruit, all of which withdrew from his reach whenever he tried to eat or drink. His story was known to Chaucer (c.1369).