temptation
Americannoun
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the act of tempting; enticement or allurement.
- Synonyms:
- inducement, seduction, pull, attraction, lure
-
something that tempts, entices, or allures.
-
the fact or state of being tempted, especially to evil.
-
an instance of this.
-
(initial capital letter) the temptation of Christ by Satan. Matthew 4.
noun
-
the act of tempting or the state of being tempted
-
a person or thing that tempts
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of temptation
First recorded in 1175–1225; Middle English temptacion, from Latin temptātiōn- (stem of temptātiō ) “a testing”; see tempt, -ation
Explanation
Temptation is something you want to have or to do, even though you know you shouldn't. That bag of peanut butter cups on top of your fridge might be an example of a temptation. The thing that you want despite knowing it's not good for you — like the cool sneakers you really can't afford — is a temptation. The feeling is also a temptation — so wanting those shoes is temptation. The Latin word temptare, or to taste, is where temptation comes from, which makes a lot of sense when you think of that bag of peanut butter cups calling to you from the kitchen.
Vocabulary lists containing temptation
Bridge to Terabithia
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Brown Girl Dreaming
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A Long Way from Chicago
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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.
Kennedy had come across “Virtual Temptation in Eden” in a weekly art newsletter called “It’s Nice That.”
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 16, 2026
Dafoe was crucified as Jesus in The Last Temptation of Christ and cut off his ear as Van Gogh in At Eternity's Gate.
From BBC • Dec. 31, 2024
In 1988, Scorsese made “The Last Temptation of Christ,” an epic drama starring Willem Dafoe as Jesus of Nazareth and based on the 1955 book of the same name.
From Salon • Mar. 28, 2024
After all this, you may be inclined to see Scott Calhoun’s “Night Air,” with its tortured landscape and white owl, as a new treatment of the Temptation of St. Anthony.
From New York Times • Jan. 18, 2024
Temptation had its way with my companions, and they untied the bag.
From "The Odyssey" by Homer
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.
