tantalize

(tăn'tə-līz')
tr.v., -lized, -liz·ing, -liz·es.
To excite (another) by exposing something desirable while keeping it out of reach.

[From Latin Tantalus, Tantalus. See Tantalus.]

tantalization tan'ta·li·za'tion (-lĭ-zā'shən) n.
tantalizer tan'ta·liz'er n.
tantalizingly tan'ta·liz'ing·ly adv.

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means more than just 'tease or torment', as is shown by the word's origins in the treatment meted out to the legendary Phrygian king Tantalus, who was forced to stand in water which receded when he tried to drink and under branches that drew back when he tried to pick the fruit. The word is therefore best used when it retains an element of torment caused by something offered and then withdrawn, although this cannot always be as explicit or obvious as it was for Tantalus. It occurs most often in the adjectival form tantalizing or the adverbial form tantalizingly:

Foremost among their key sources was a man whom the authors still tantalizingly refuse to name—Time, 1974

There are tantalizing hints of a personal love story, but there is no development or continuity—J. Culler, 2000.

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verb

To excite (another) by exposing something desirable while keeping it out of reach: bait, tease. See excite/bore/interest.

v

Definition: provoke, tease
Antonyms: disenchant, repulse, turn off

IN BRIEF: To tease.

Movie previews are made to tantalize moviegoers.

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For a list of words related to tantalize, see:

• Strategy and Tactics - tantalize: (vb) torment by tempting with something unattainable

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See words rhyming with "tantalizer."

  See crossword solutions for the clue Tantalise.

Dansk (Danish)
v. tr. - spænde på pinebænken, ærgre, pine

Nederlands (Dutch)
doen watertanden

Français (French)
v. tr. - allécher

Deutsch (German)
v. - reizen, zappeln lassen, falsche Hoffnungen wecken

Ελληνική (Greek)
v. - βασανίζω, ταλανίζω

Italiano (Italian)
tormentare, stuzzicare, illudere

Português (Portuguese)
v. - tantalizar, atormentar

Русский (Russian)
терзать ложными обещаниями

Español (Spanish)
v. tr. - atormentar, martirizar, seducir

Svenska (Swedish)
v. - locka, fresta, reta

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
逗弄, 使干着急

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
v. tr. - 逗弄, 使乾著急

한국어 (Korean)
v. tr. - ~을 애타게 하여 괴롭히다, ~을 보여주어 감질나게 하다

日本語 (Japanese)
v. - じらす, 気を持たせる

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(فعل) يعذب‏

עברית (Hebrew)
v. tr. - ‮עורר תקוות-שווא, גרם לייסורי טנטלוס, התעלל‬

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