tempt
Definition from Wiktionary, the free dictionary
Contents |
English [edit]
Pronunciation [edit]
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Audio (US) (file)
- Rhymes: -ɛmpt
Etymology [edit]
From Old French tempter (French: tenter), from Latin temptare, more correctly tentare (“to handle, touch, try, test, tempt”), frequentative of tenere (“to hold”). Displaced native Old English costning (“temptation”).
Verb [edit]
tempt (third-person singular simple present tempts, present participle tempting, simple past and past participle tempted)
- (transitive) To provoke someone to do wrong, especially by promising a reward; to entice.
- She tempted me to eat the apple.
- (transitive) To attract; to allure.
- Its glossy skin tempted me.
- (transitive) To provoke something; to court.
- It would be tempting fate.
Translations [edit]
to provoke someone to do wrong
to attract, allure
to provoke
Derived terms [edit]
External links [edit]
- tempt in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913
- tempt in The Century Dictionary, The Century Co., New York, 1911
- tempt at OneLook Dictionary Search
