- 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.
Tantalizing traces of ancient Martian life may have been found.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 23, 2026
Tantalizing early results came from maize, in which plants with identical DNA had variations in traits such as kernel color that persisted for hundreds of generations.
From Science Magazine • Jul. 18, 2019
Tantalizing as it was, this new account had a curious problem: It was notably different from all of the other stories the prosecution had heard.
From New York Times • Feb. 21, 2018
Tantalizing clues emerge — the name Mickey, an image of a broken palm tree — but so do more questions, and his extended family closes ranks.
From Los Angeles Times • May 17, 2017
Tantalizing showers flying across the distant mountains did not cool the dry, hot air.
From Lippincott's Magazine of Popular Literature and Science Volume 15, No. 90, June, 1875 by Various
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.
