- tantalizing
- adjective Date: circa 1683 possessing a quality that arouses or stimulates desire or interest; also mockingly or teasingly out of reach • tantalizingly adverb
New Collegiate Dictionary. 2001.
tantalizing
Look at other dictionaries:
tantalizing — [tan′tə līz΄iŋ] adj. 1. that tantalizes 2. tempting; enticing [a tantalizing odor of cookies] tantalizingly adv … English World dictionary
tantalizing — index provocative, sapid Burton s Legal Thesaurus. William C. Burton. 2006 … Law dictionary
tantalizing — (adj.) mid 17c., prp. adjective from TANTALIZE (Cf. tantalize). Related: Tantalizingly … Etymology dictionary
tantalizing — adjective 1. arousing desire or expectation for something unattainable or mockingly out of reach (Freq. 1) a tantalizing taste of success • Syn: ↑tantalising • Similar to: ↑inviting 2. very pleasantly inviting (Freq. 1) … Useful english dictionary
Tantalizing — Tantalize Tan ta*lize, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Tantalized}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Tantalizing}.] [From {Tantalus}: cf. F. tantaliser.] To tease or torment by presenting some good to the view and exciting desire, but continually frustrating the… … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
tantalizing — tantalizingly, adv. /tan tl uy zing/, adj. having or exhibiting something that provokes or arouses expectation, interest, or desire, esp. that which remains unobtainable or beyond one s reach: a tantalizing taste of success. [1650 60; TANTALIZE + … Universalium
tantalizing — adjective Teasing; tempting, but beyond reach. ...then it was that monomaniac Ahab, furious with this tantalizing vicinity of his foe, which placed him all alive and helpless in the very jaws he hated; frenzied with all this, he seized the long… … Wiktionary
tantalizing — adj. Tantalizing is used with these nouns: ↑glimpse, ↑hint … Collocations dictionary
tantalizing — tan|ta|liz|ing also tantalising BrE [ˈtæntəl aızıŋ] adj making you feel a strong desire to have or do something ▪ the tantalizing smell of fried bacon >tantalizingly adv ▪ She was tantalizingly out of reach … Dictionary of contemporary English
tantalizing — tan|ta|liz|ing [ tæntl,aızıŋ ] adjective making you feel excited or hopeful about having something you want, often something that you never get: a tantalizing display of chocolates ╾ tan|ta|liz|ing|ly adverb: We were tantalizingly close to… … Usage of the words and phrases in modern English
tantalizing — also tantalising BrE adjective making you feel a strong desire to have something that you cannot have: The tantalizing smell of warm bread wafted out of the shop. tantalizingly adverb … Longman dictionary of contemporary English
