tempt
Americanverb (used with object)
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to entice or allure to do something often regarded as unwise, wrong, or immoral.
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to attract, appeal strongly to, or invite.
The offer tempts me.
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to render strongly disposed to do something.
The book tempted me to read more on the subject.
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to put (someone) to the test in a venturesome way; provoke.
to tempt one's fate.
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Obsolete. to try or test.
verb
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to attempt to persuade or entice to do something, esp something morally wrong or unwise
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to allure, invite, or attract
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to give rise to a desire in (someone) to do something; dispose
their unfriendliness tempted me to leave the party
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to risk provoking (esp in the phrase tempt fate )
Related Words
Tempt, seduce may both mean to allure or entice to something unwise or wicked. To tempt is to attract by holding out the probability of gratification or advantage, often in the direction of that which is wrong or unwise: to tempt a man with a bribe. To seduce is literally to lead astray, sometimes from that which absorbs one or demands attention, but oftener, in a moral sense, from rectitude, chastity, etc.: to seduce a person away from loyalty.
Other Word Forms
- pretempt verb (used with object)
- self-tempted adjective
- supertempt verb (used with object)
- temptable adjective
- tempter noun
- untemptable adjective
- untempted adjective
Etymology
Origin of tempt
First recorded in 1175–1225; Middle English from Latin temptāre “to probe, feel, test, tempt”
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.
But this is a delicate business, and the administration tempts chaos unless it learns to exercise its power with a lot more finesse.
He wrote that while “it can be tempting to bypass Congress when some pressing problems arise,” the legislative branch should be taken into account with major policies, particularly those involving taxes and tariffs.
From Los Angeles Times
“Will the community retain its artistic elements, horse properties, trails, rural feel, and architectural heritage even as property values arise and the economic benefits of more density and hillside development tempt builders and political entities?”
From Los Angeles Times
That said, plenty of families have adult children who may be tempted to squander a large sum of money and/or even fall prey to other bad actors in their lives.
From MarketWatch
But others with little or no political experience will surely be tempted.
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.
