tempter
noun
a person or thing that tempts, especially to evil.
tempter
American
[temp-ter]
/ ˈtɛmp tər /
Tempter
British
/ ˈtɛmptə /
noun
Etymology
Origin of tempter
1350–1400; tempt + -er 1; replacing Middle English temptour < Old French temptere, temptëor < Late Latin temptātōr-, stem of temptātor tempter (to sin), Latin: one who makes an attempt; tempt, -tor
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.
See Examples For:
Early in the opera, otherworldly figures arrive to urge the ghosts to cross over, with multiple copies of each one’s tempter.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 21, 2026
However, future price increases “will likely incentivize additional supply coming online and tempter pricing upside to an extent,” in Baird’s view.
From Barron's ● Apr. 17, 2026
In it, he draws parallels between Jack Nicholson’s character and the devil: “a tempter who draws people into his sphere of influence.”
From Washington Post ● Mar. 3, 2023
Somebody was the tempter, the proactive initiator, and it wasn't the colleges.
From Salon ● May 27, 2019
“Oh, I think you know what I mean. Somewhere there is a tempter, a serpent, so to speak, and I had to keep them from meeting.”
From "The Amber Spyglass" by Philip Pullman
If Ted could climb out on top, Tempter Kramer would next try to steer him into the U.S. title at Forest Hills in September.
From Time Magazine Archive
But the final time I saw the Tempter, he came in the clothes and body of Joseph, the man who married my mother and raised me--not a bad man but hard on us all.
From Time Magazine Archive
First Battus came, deep read in worldly art, Whose tongue ne'er knew the secrets of his heart; In mischief mighty, tho' but mean of size, And like the Tempter, ever in disguise.
From Chapters in the History of the Insane in the British Isles by Daniel Hack Tuke
Tree, Mr., and The Tempter, 248. —— and Ibsen, 284. —— in John-a-Dreams, 302; his staying, 307.
From The English Stage Being an Account of the Victorian Drama by Augustin Filon
Then, as the flame leaped up in an irregular jet, the distorted shadow of the Tempter intertwined itself in a ghastly embrace with her own.
From Ghetto Tragedies by Israel Zangwill
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