- present participle of tantalize.
tantalizing
Americanadjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of tantalizing
Explanation
Something tantalizing is tempting: like a meal that smells amazing and makes you want to eat it. Tantalizing things are very appealing. When something is tantalizing, it makes you want it, even if it's totally out of reach. An exciting movie trailer could be tantalizing if it makes you want to see the movie. A little part of a song can be tantalizing if it tempts you to hear more. Smells — when they're good smells — can be very tantalizing. Just walking through a good restaurant, smelling and looking at the food, is a tantalizing experience.
Vocabulary lists containing tantalizing
The Giver
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"The Landlady" by Roald Dahl
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The Things They Carried
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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.
Parton did not offer specifics about how such arrangements could work, or how her estate would handle the rights issues, but it offers the tantalizing prospect of Parton tunes for years to come.
From Barron's ● Aug. 26, 2026
Consider “Coyote vs. Acme” a tantalizing pile of popcorn in the median.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 26, 2026
For many critics, it served as the tantalizing appetizer before the release of “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band” in 1967, a dazzling entrée if ever there were one.
From Salon ● Aug. 5, 2026
Big Tech reining in its AI spending may be a tantalizing prospect for some.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 7, 2026
“Something better,” he says, attempting to be tantalizing.
From "The Handmaid's Tale" by Margaret Atwood
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.
