Tempt
//tɛmpt// verb
verb ·Common ·High school level
Definitions
Verb
- 1 To provoke someone to do wrong, especially by promising a reward; to entice. transitive
"She tempted me to eat the apple."
- 2 induce into action by using one's charm wordnet
- 3 To attract; to allure. transitive
"Its glossy skin tempted me."
- 4 provoke someone to do something through (often false or exaggerated) promises or persuasion wordnet
- 5 To provoke something; to court. transitive
"It would be tempting fate."
Show 4 more definitions
- 6 try presumptuously wordnet
- 7 dispose or incline or entice to wordnet
- 8 give rise to a desire by being attractive or inviting wordnet
- 9 try to seduce wordnet
Example
More examples"Nothing would tempt me to deceive him."
Etymology
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”).
Related phrases
More for "tempt"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.