tantalize
Tempt without delivering
To tantalize is to torment or tease by presenting something desirable but keeping it out of reach.
The word comes from Tantalus, a figure in Greek mythology condemned to stand in water beneath fruit trees—when he reached for fruit, branches pulled away; when he bent to drink, water receded.
A tantalizing aroma from the kitchen promises a meal you can't yet have.
A tantalizing glimpse reveals just enough to make you want more.
Draw toward wrongdoing
- allureAttractive, tempting quality
- lureThing that tempts
- enticeAttract by offering appeal
- baitLure for prey
tease · beckon · dangle · hook · siren · invitation · enticement · draw
Hard to find
- forbiddenNot allowed
- out-of-reachBeyond one's grasp
- inaccessibleCannot be reached
- unobtainableImpossible to acquire
Sisyphean · ungraspable · unreachable · almost · nearly · glimpse · mirage · illusion
Severe prolonged suffering
- tauntInsulting provocation
- teaseMock playfully
- thwartPrevent success of
- disappointFail to meet expectations
exasperate · vex · aggravate · provoke · mock · goad · needle · plague
tempt
Draw toward wrongdoing
bait · tease · beckon · dangle · hook · siren · invitation · enticement · draw · appeal
elusive
Hard to find
- forbiddenNot allowed
- out-of-reachBeyond one's grasp
- inaccessibleCannot be reached
unobtainable · Sisyphean · ungraspable · unreachable · almost · nearly · glimpse · mirage · illusion · taunting
torment
Severe prolonged suffering
disappoint · exasperate · vex · aggravate · provoke · mock · goad · needle · plague · bedevil
flirt
Playfully attract attention
coquette · enamor · infatuate · titillate · arouse · excite · provoke · stir · kindle · inflame
coax
Persuade by gentle urging
persuade · induce · influence · sway · entrap · decoy · manipulate · sweet-talk · flatter · charm
- Mythological WordsAchilles heel, Adonis, aegis, ambrosia, Apollo
- allureattraction, attract, magnetism, charisma, attractiveness
- teasingtease, teasing, rib, ribbing, josh
- Caribbean slangpatois, mon, nuff, cyan, yuh
- eroticaerotic, erotic literature, eroticism, erotica, sensuality
tantalizing, tantalized, tantalizes, tantalizingly, tantalising, tantalise, tantalizer, tantalised, tantalizers