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tempting 1 of 3

adjective

Definition of temptingnext
as in enticing

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tempting

2 of 3

noun

as in seduction

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tempting

3 of 3

verb

present participle of tempt
1
as in luring
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

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in risking
to take a chance on refusing to lay in enough food for the long winter tempts the dangers of starvation

Synonyms & Similar Words

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of tempting
Adjective
For the Greek international to be so consistent with repeat actions like that tempting pass should be a massive help to Arsenal throughout the season. — Jack Lang, New York Times, 6 Sep. 2026 Friday afternoon brought entertainment on 11 stages, a tempting hodgepodge of aromas from 50-plus food vendors and street tents filled with offerings from 125-plus artists as Oakland County’s 28-year tradition kicked off the first of four days. — Brian McCollum, Freep.com, 5 Sep. 2026
Noun
In the same way that Christ fasted to resist the tempting of the biblical adversary, many Christians are also called to fast and give up the temptations of their daily lives during Lent. — Rin Velasco, The Providence Journal, 20 Feb. 2026
Verb
As the attacker brings the ball forward, Tielemans, from a screening role, bides his time, tempting the attacker forward before jumping in to win the ball. — Anantaajith Raghuraman, New York Times, 13 July 2026 Extreme heat, tempting open bodies of water and outdoor critters can all prove deadly. — Brittney Melton, NPR, 9 July 2026 See All Example Sentences for tempting
Recent Examples of Synonyms for tempting
  1. enticing
  2. seduction
  3. luring
  4. risking
  5. tantalizing
  6. exhortation
  7. seducing
  8. alluring
Adjective
  • This last concert of the Yankee Stadium run promised to be a career-spanning revue—an enticing pitch, as the later albums have felt more like exercises in brand management.
    — Hua Hsu, New Yorker, 21 Sep. 2026
  • Still, Mehta and cinematographer Pip White craft an enticing atmosphere amid the gunfire, as day turns to night, and dust consumes the air.
    — Siddhant Adlakha, IndieWire, 21 Sep. 2026
Definition of enticing
Noun
  • In the darkness of Recife’s mangroves, a young man’s search for desire leads him into a world where seduction and violence become impossible to escape.
    — Ryan Lattanzio, IndieWire, 16 Sep. 2026
  • So, imagine what happens when the planet of love, seduction and relationship dynamics transits Scorpio’s Plutonian territory.
    — Valerie Mesa, PEOPLE, 10 Sep. 2026
Definition of seduction
Verb
  • On November 5, 2006, the real Predator team was in Murphy, Texas, in hopes of luring Conradt via one of its traditional sting operations, with Schrack as the decoy.
    — Samantha Bergeson, Vanity Fair, 24 Sep. 2026
  • And the inclusion of post-production work in the federal incentive language also could help California, as the state recently passed its own tax credit focused on luring back editing, sound mixing, composing and visual effects jobs.
    — Samantha Masunaga, Los Angeles Times, 24 Sep. 2026
Definition of luring
Verb
  • Instead, rather than risking extinction at the capricious will of AI, humanity will benefit enormously from AI’s ability to self-optimize.
    — Keith Tidman, Baltimore Sun, 24 Sep. 2026
  • Experts warn that massive constellations could be incredibly ecologically damaging, releasing copious amounts of atmospheric pollution and risking damage to the ozone layer.
    — Victor Tangermann, Futurism, 24 Sep. 2026
Definition of risking
Adjective
  • Mitchell also spoke of the tantalizing defensive possibilities with a roster featuring Antetokounmpo, Bam Adebayo, Andrew Wiggins and himself.
    — Barry Jackson, Miami Herald, 18 Sep. 2026
  • This has told them that 3I/ATLAS contains more nitrogen than the typical comet from our own solar system — revealing a tantalizing clue about how the strange comet formed.
    — Rahul Rao, Space.com, 14 Sep. 2026
Definition of tantalizing
Noun
  • Duckworth also faced backlash from critics who argued that her message was, at best, a series of hollow exhortations to simply try harder and, at worst, an insidious form of victim-blaming that ignored structural inequality.
    — Meghan O’Gieblyn, New Yorker, 14 Sep. 2026
  • His character is a severe, hectoring figure; his lessons amount to an exhortation to be as mean as possible when money is concerned.
    — Christopher Cox, Vanity Fair, 26 Aug. 2026
Definition of exhortation
Verb
  • Adva Lavie, an OnlyFans model, already is facing criminal charges in Los Angeles County for allegedly seducing and stealing from rich men.
    — Richard Winton, Los Angeles Times, 17 Sep. 2026
  • Still, with more than 40,000 industry jobs lost in the past few years, soundstages and vendor storefronts sitting empty, and lucrative overseas incentives seducing even more production away, things are bleak in town right now.
    — Dominic Patten, Deadline, 6 Aug. 2026
Definition of seducing
Adjective
  • This contributed to an exodus of wealthy residents to alluring cities like Milan, Lisbon, and Dubai, which have more favorable tax systems.
    — Ashley Baker, Vanity Fair, 22 Sep. 2026
  • Photograph courtesy Neon Movies themselves are the subject of some of the festival’s most alluring offerings.
    — Richard Brody, New Yorker, 18 Sep. 2026
Definition of alluring

Browse Nearby Words

tempters
tempting
temptingly
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Cite this Entry

“Tempting.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/tempting. Accessed 26 Sep. 2026.

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