Tempt \Tempt\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Tempted; p. pr. & vb. n.
Tempting.] [OE. tempten, tenten, from OF. tempter, tenter,
F. tenter, fr. L. tentare, temptare, to handle, feel, attack,
to try, put to the test, urge, freq. from tendere, tentum,
and tensum, to stretch. See Thin, and cf. Attempt,
Tend, Taunt, Tent a pavilion, Tent to probe.]
1. To put to trial; to prove; to test; to try.
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God did tempt Abraham. --Gen. xxii.
1.
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Ye shall not tempt the Lord your God. --Deut. vi.
16.
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2. To lead, or endeavor to lead, into evil; to entice to what
is wrong; to seduce.
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Every man is tempted when he is drawn away of his
own lust, and enticed. --James i. 14.
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3. To endeavor to persuade; to induce; to invite; to incite;
to provoke; to instigate.
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Tempt not the brave and needy to despair. --Dryden.
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Nor tempt the wrath of heaven's avenging Sire.
--Pope.
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4. To endeavor to accomplish or reach; to attempt.
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Ere leave be given to tempt the nether skies.
--Dryden.
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Syn: To entice; allure; attract; decoy; seduce.
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The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
Tempting \Tempt"ing\, a.
Adapted to entice or allure; attractive; alluring; seductive;
enticing; as, tempting pleasures. --
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
tempting
adj 1: highly attractive and able to arouse hope or desire; "an
alluring prospect"; "her alluring smile"; "the voice
was low and beguiling"; "difficult to say no to an
enticing advertisement"; "a tempting invitation" [syn:
alluring, beguiling, enticing]
2: very pleasantly inviting; "a tantalizing aroma"; "a tempting
repast" [syn: tantalizing, tantalising]
WordNet (r) 2.0
84 Moby Thesaurus words for "tempting":
Circean, acceptable, adorable, agreeable, alluring, appealing,
appetizing, attractive, beguiling, bewitching, blandishing,
cajoling, captivating, catching, charismatic, charming, coaxing,
come-hither, coquettish, delectable, delicious, delightful,
desirable, enchanting, engaging, enravishing, enthralling,
enticing, entrancing, enviable, exciting, exotic, exquisite,
fascinating, fetching, flirtatious, foxy, glamorous, heart-robbing,
hypnotic, interesting, intriguing, inviting, irresistible, likable,
lovable, lovely, luscious, luxurious, mesmeric, mouth-watering,
piquant, pleasing, prepossessing, provocative, provoking,
provoquant, ravishing, rousing, savory, seducing, seductive,
sensuous, sexy, siren, sirenic, spellbinding, spellful, succulent,
taking, tantalizing, teasing, thrilling, tickling, titillating,
titillative, to be desired, toothsome, unobjectionable, voluptuous,
winning, winsome, witching, worth having
Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0
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