tantalizing

adjective

tan·​ta·​liz·​ing ˈtan-tə-ˌlī-ziŋ How to pronounce tantalizing (audio)
: possessing a quality that arouses or stimulates desire or interest
also : mockingly or teasingly out of reach
tantalizingly adverb

Examples of tantalizing in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
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Any fan of Madonna’s will drink up this tantalizing 16mm scrapbook stuff. Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 18 Apr. 2025 At the National Museum of Damascus, glass cases hold tantalizing glimpses of the wealth of ancient Palmyra. Jane Arraf, NPR, 17 Apr. 2025 As Boden grilled Chief Pascal and his officers — Severide, Herrmann and Kidd — to find out what went wrong, the identity of the injured firefighter remained a tantalizing mystery. Vlada Gelman, TVLine, 16 Apr. 2025 Suffice to say, the most tantalizing financial data in coming weeks will be on central banks’ reserve holdings. William Pesek, Forbes.com, 15 Apr. 2025 See All Example Sentences for tantalizing

Word History

First Known Use

circa 1683, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of tantalizing was circa 1683

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Cite this Entry

“Tantalizing.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tantalizing. Accessed 24 Apr. 2025.

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