tempt

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Satan to tempt, and make the Christian wise to manage the temptation for his own escape.

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Definitions (19)

Toggle American Heritage definitions American Heritage Dictionary (5)

  1. transitive verb To try to get (someone) to do wrong, especially by a promise of reward.
  2. transitive verb To be inviting or attractive to: A second helping tempted me. We refused the offer even though it tempted us. See Synonyms at lure.
  3. transitive verb To provoke or to risk provoking: Don't tempt fate.

Toggle Century definitions Century Dictionary (7)

Toggle GNU Webster definitions GNU Webster's 1913 (1)

Toggle WordNet definitions WordNet (6)

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Examples (50)

  • He imagined Eden Kelley had no particular fondness for orchids anymore The bitch had managed to shrvive the assassination ~t-tempt, had eluded certain death He knew Deputy Marshal Christian Tierney, whose stunningly beautiful wife had died' in Eden's stead, would murder him in his bed if he could. —  wreck less lover
  • Still, to keep your sex life from snoozing off, you need to shake things up with sexy surprises and put back into play your sexually enticing skills, such as acting and dressing to tempt, attract and seduce him. —  rediff.com
  • Washington put forward a new proposal which has been described as an attempt to "tempt" the Taliban movement in Afghanistan into the political field, and away from violence, by allowing the movement to set up a political party and take part in elections. —  Israelated - English Israel blogs
  • Collectivists would prefer some large, benign and caring government taking full responsibility for our welfare (an ideal tried many times, always foundering on the fact that implementation requires real, flawed, tempt-able human beings) that tells us what to do "for our own good," that would eventually encompass the entire globe leading to more peace and prosperity. —  The Denver Newspaper Agency YourHub.com Stories
  • But that is ok, perhaps some day you will spend your time doing something more than trying to tempt or kill a persons faith. —  Ron Paul Wins! | Campaign for Liberty at the Daily Paul - Blog
 

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This word has been looked up 111 times.

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Related

Roget's II Roget's II: The New Thesaurus

Allen's Allen's Synonyms and Antonyms

Used in the same context Used in the Same Context

alluring ·  attractive ·  delicious ·  tasty ·  fascinate ·  desirable ·  abundant ·  appetizing ·  compel ·  sexy ·  flatter ·  sensual

Used in the same contextWord Family

tempt:   tempting ·  tempted ·  tempts
Roget's II: The New Thesaurus, Third Edition by the Editors of the American Heritage® Dictionary. Copyright © 2003, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Etymologies (3)

Toggle American Heritage etymologies American Heritage Dictionary (1)

  1. Middle English tempten, from Old French tempter, from Latin temptāre, to feel, try.

Toggle Century etymologies Century Dictionary (2)

  1. from Middle English tempten (past participle sometimes temped), from Old French tempter, tenter, tanter, French tenter = Provencal temptar = Spanish Portuguese tentar = Italian tentare, tempt, from Latin tentare, handle, touch, try, test, tempt (also in form temptare, not a reg. variant, and explainable only as an ancient error due to some confusion; cf. English daunt, from Old French daunter, dompter, from Latin domitare, etc.), freq. of tenere, past participle tentus, hold: see tenant. Cf. attempt, etc.
  2. from tempt, v.
 

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/tɛmpt/
by American Heritage

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