tempt
[ tempt ]
/ tɛmpt /
verb (used with object)
to entice or allure to do something often regarded as unwise, wrong, or immoral.
to attract, appeal strongly to, or invite: The offer tempts me.
to render strongly disposed to do something: The book tempted me to read more on the subject.
to put (someone) to the test in a venturesome way; provoke: to tempt one's fate.
Obsolete. to try or test.
Nearby words
Origin of tempt
1175–1225; Middle English < Latin temptāre to probe, feel, test, tempt
SYNONYMS FOR tempt
1 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.
2 inveigle, induce, lure, incite, persuade.
Related forms
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Examples from the Web for tempt
British Dictionary definitions for tempt
tempt
/ (tɛmpt) /
verb (tr)
to attempt to persuade or entice to do something, esp something morally wrong or unwise
to allure, invite, or attract
to give rise to a desire in (someone) to do something; disposetheir unfriendliness tempted me to leave the party
to risk provoking (esp in the phrase tempt fate)
Derived Forms
temptable, adjectivetempter, nounWord Origin for tempt
C13: from Old French tempter, from Latin temptāre to test
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
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