Link Centre Dictionary

tempt

US/tɛmpt/ fairly common

verb

1.

dispose or incline or entice to

  • “We were tempted by the delicious-looking food”
Synonyms
2.

provoke someone to do something through (often false or exaggerated) promises or persuasion

  • “He lured me into temptation”
Synonyms
3.

give rise to a desire by being attractive or inviting

  • “the window displays tempted the shoppers”
Synonyms
4.

induce into action by using one''s charm

  • “She charmed him into giving her all his money”
Synonyms
5.

try to seduce

6.

try presumptuously

  • “St. Anthony was tempted in the desert”

Origin

From Middle English tempten, from Old French tempter (French: tenter), from Latin temptare, from tentare (“to handle, touch, try, test, tempt”), frequentative of tendere (“to stretch”). Displaced native English costning (“temptation”).

Phrases

  • tempt fate
  • tempt providence

Related words

Word family

Broader terms

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Entails

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.