tantalises

To tantalise is to torment or tease by presenting something desirable but keeping it just out of reach.

The word comes from Tantalus, a figure in Greek myth condemned to stand in water beneath fruit trees—both receding whenever he reached for them.

Something tantalises when it excites desire without satisfying it: The aroma of fresh bread tantalised us as we walked past the bakery.

This is the British spelling; Americans write tantalizes.