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Showing results for tantalizing. Search instead for catalyzing.
Synonyms

tantalizing

American  
[tan-tl-ahy-zing] / ˈtæn tlˌaɪ zɪŋ /

adjective

  1. having or exhibiting something that provokes or arouses expectation, interest, or desire, especially that which remains unobtainable or beyond one's reach.

    a tantalizing taste of success.

Other Word Forms

  • tantalizingly adverb
  • untantalizing adjective

Etymology

Origin of tantalizing

First recorded in 1650–60; tantalize + -ing 2

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.

He seemed like the sort of tantalizing five-star talent who could change not just the present but future of a program.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 11, 2026

And yet the prospect of using origami to improve existing technologies is, for some, tantalizing.

From BBC • Mar. 3, 2026

This elusive, tantalizing novel aims for the effect of the raga—to conjure “the sadness, the richness, the pleasure of the waiting and the wandering.”

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 20, 2026

They’re inspiring and tantalizing, each salad photo a beautiful showcase of visual media at its finest.

From Salon • Feb. 7, 2026

I don’t think I have ever seen anything that looked half so beautiful, a quarter so tantalizing.

From "A Walk in the Woods" by Bill Bryson

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.