tantalize
Americanverb (used with object)
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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tantalizationnoun
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tantalizernoun
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tantalizingadjective
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untantalizedadjective
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tantalizinglyadverb
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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tantalizesimple
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tantalizessimple
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have tantalizedperfect
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has tantalizedperfect
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am tantalizingprogressive
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are tantalizingprogressive
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is tantalizingprogressive
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have been tantalizingperfect progressive
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has been tantalizingperfect progressive
Past
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tantalizedsimple
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had tantalizedperfect
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was tantalizingprogressive
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were tantalizingprogressive
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had been tantalizingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of tantalize
First recorded in 1590–1600; Tantal(us) + -ize
Explanation
When you tantalize people, you torment them in a specific way — by showing them something they want but can’t have. You could tantalize people with cavities and nut allergies by eating pecan pie in front of them. The word tantalize comes from a Greek story about a guy named Tantalus who was so evil that the gods of the underworld came up with a special punishment just for him (they were really good at that). They put him in a pool of water that drained away every time he bent down to drink. There was also a tree above his head that whisked away its juicy apples every time he tried to pick one. So, it only makes sense that to tantalize someone is to torture them with what they cannot have.
Vocabulary lists containing tantalize
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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.
See Examples For:
I wish the same could be said about his overlong dream-logic interludes, which tantalize as peeks into Frankie’s psyche but eventually feel like style filler.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 11, 2025
To tantalize and tease prospective viewers, the marketing team behind “Babygirl” has leaned all the way in, emphasizing the movie’s Christmas Day release in promotional materials that demand audiences “get everything you want” this holiday.
From Salon ● Dec. 30, 2024
No matter the answer, Gef has continued to vex and tantalize for decades.
From National Geographic ● Sep. 19, 2023
It’s a flatbread carpeted with za’atar, which will simultaneously tantalize and confound your palate.
From Washington Post ● Dec. 5, 2022
The dense brown forest on either side never seemed to vary, and ahead there was only a new bend in the river to tantalize her.
From "The Witch of Blackbird Pond" by Elizabeth George Speare
The possibility tantalizes the philosopher, but even more so the astronomer: planets around red dwarfs are easier to find than around any other type of star.
From Scientific American ● Sep. 14, 2023
The result is a quick, comforting meal that tantalizes the taste buds.
From Washington Post ● Jan. 18, 2023
As December unfolds, the calendar tantalizes Eva with wealth, love and perhaps even the chance to walk again — but it also demands sacrifices.
From New York Times ● Dec. 2, 2021
Sky Wahl, who plays Snout, tantalizes the air with chimes, cymbals, Tibetan tingsha bells and a hunting horn, among other instruments.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 14, 2021
The gene provides an organizing principle for modern biology—and it tantalizes us with the prospect of controlling our bodies and fates.
From "The Gene" by Siddhartha Mukherjee
Because for as many people as Byrd tantalized during her legendary cable run through the ’80s and ’90s, there were just as many who were outraged and scandalized by her sex-positive, queer-inclusive values.
From Salon ● Jul. 10, 2026
He may have tantalized the crowds with promises of one more thing, but he always believed in the power of fewer things.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 21, 2026
Banged-up Ja’Marr Chase has to be tantalized that Texans are hurting at safety and are vulnerable in middle.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 9, 2023
The idea has tantalized urban planners and utopian dreamers for centuries.
From New York Times ● Aug. 31, 2023
The possibility of that tantalized everyone, whether they liked football or not.
From "Friday Night Lights: A Town, A Team, And A Dream" by H.G. Bissinger
As job seekers face one of the toughest hiring markets in years, SpaceX is dangling a tantalizing prospect: It’s hiring.
From Barron's ● May 21, 2026
When Rory McIlroy sprayed his drive far to the right on the final hole of the Masters last month, it opened the door to a tantalizing possibility.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 13, 2026
“There are tantalizing signs that businesses are starting to pull the trigger on new hires,” said Scott Anderson, chief U.S. economist at BMO Capital Markets.
From MarketWatch ● May 2, 2026
There will be many more jaw-dropping moments in the tantalizing weeks ahead, many games that will take big turns.
From BBC ● Apr. 27, 2026
She smiled at the shining water and tantalizing strip of land.
From "A Girl Named Disaster" by Nancy Farmer
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.
