1
as in lured
to lead away from a usual or proper course by offering some pleasure or advantage
that chocolate dessert sure tempts me, but I should stick with my diet
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in risked
to take a chance on
refusing to lay in enough food for the long winter tempts the dangers of starvation
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Recent Examples of tempted
You might be tempted to say yes too quickly or settle for less just to avoid the discomfort of waiting.
—
Valerie Mesa, PEOPLE, 16 Apr. 2026
But maybe you were tempted to let Clippy stay, like a digital pet that had quietly wandered over to express curiosity before settling in to keep you company.
—Nina Metz, Chicago Tribune, 15 Apr. 2026
So naked is its message that I am tempted to instruct people to watch the movie and end the chapter there.
—Literary Hub, 14 Apr. 2026
From shoulder-grazing long bobs to cheekbone-hugging mini bobs, this cut can have anyone tempted to make the big chop.
—Kaitlyn Yarborough, Southern Living, 14 Apr. 2026
Reading On Photography now, you might be tempted to wonder whether Sontag had ever asked Peter about his work.
—Andrew Durbin, Vulture, 13 Apr. 2026
Sans Saturn, we might be tempted to call Titan a planet on its own.
—Phil Plait, Scientific American, 10 Apr. 2026
Arriving in the same valley under unseasonably blue skies and warm winter sun, you might be tempted to think that Steinbeck’s California has vanished entirely.
—Alexandra Genova, TheWeek, 7 Apr. 2026
Viewers may be tempted to join and trade based on that placement.
—Alex Weprin, HollywoodReporter, 7 Apr. 2026
Valerie Mesa, PEOPLE, 16 Apr. 2026
But maybe you were tempted to let Clippy stay, like a digital pet that had quietly wandered over to express curiosity before settling in to keep you company.
—Nina Metz, Chicago Tribune, 15 Apr. 2026
So naked is its message that I am tempted to instruct people to watch the movie and end the chapter there.
—Literary Hub, 14 Apr. 2026
From shoulder-grazing long bobs to cheekbone-hugging mini bobs, this cut can have anyone tempted to make the big chop.
—Kaitlyn Yarborough, Southern Living, 14 Apr. 2026
Reading On Photography now, you might be tempted to wonder whether Sontag had ever asked Peter about his work.
—Andrew Durbin, Vulture, 13 Apr. 2026
Sans Saturn, we might be tempted to call Titan a planet on its own.
—Phil Plait, Scientific American, 10 Apr. 2026
Arriving in the same valley under unseasonably blue skies and warm winter sun, you might be tempted to think that Steinbeck’s California has vanished entirely.
—Alexandra Genova, TheWeek, 7 Apr. 2026
Viewers may be tempted to join and trade based on that placement.
—Alex Weprin, HollywoodReporter, 7 Apr. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for tempted
Verb
-
While some of the women who came here willingly embraced ISIS ideology and passed it on to their children, many others say they were trafficked or lured to the region through ignorance or under false pretenses.—
Jane Arraf,
NPR,
11 Apr. 2026
-
The subsidies lured Reservation Dogs.—
Winston Cho,
HollywoodReporter,
9 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
If this trend continues, by trading away his upcoming first-rounders, Pagliocca risked pulling the Sky out of contention for either Watkins or Strong.—
Julia Poe,
Chicago Tribune,
17 Apr. 2026
-
For decades, hundreds of people like Coffey risked so much to convert dangerous or run-down places — such as Val’s and SIR — into spaces where people could forge new friendships, find love and companionship, and build community.—
Julio Capó,
Sun Sentinel,
16 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Inside, a fuzzy white possum, seduced by cat food, sits, befuddled.—
Bill Kearney,
Sun Sentinel,
19 Apr. 2026
-
In an industry often seduced by scale and swagger, Claire offers something far more enduring.—
Julie Lin,
Condé Nast Traveler,
10 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
The spacecraft commander headed a team of four on the Artemis II shakedown cruise of the new Orion spacecraft, flying a trajectory that took them to the moon and then 4,700 miles beyond the lunar far side—farther from Earth than any human beings have ever ventured.—
Jeffrey Kluger,
Time,
15 Apr. 2026
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The list typically includes prominent figures in the arts, such as, in 2025, visual artists Yoshitomo Nara and Mickalene Thomas, architect Annabelle Selldorf, and Miranda July, a novelist and filmmaker who has also ventured into performance art.—
Brian Boucher,
ARTnews.com,
15 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
As Dead City grow beyond the outlaw punk scene, the entertainment industry is enticed yet wary of this genuinely divisive and chaotic band.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
15 Apr. 2026
-
More than half of Medicare beneficiaries are enrolled in such plans, enticed by lower monthly premiums and extra benefits not covered by traditional Medicare, according to health policy research firm KFF.—
Annika Kim Constantino,
CNBC,
6 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Barnes persuaded Imam and his new wife, Alice, to join the project in Steubenville, and the couple bought a house there in 2019.—
Emma Green,
New Yorker,
17 Apr. 2026
-
In fact, his ally House Speaker Mike Johnson persuaded him to take it down.—
Voice of the People,
New York Daily News,
17 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Tempted.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/tempted. Accessed 23 Apr. 2026.
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