tantalizing

comparative more tantalizing · superlative most tantalizing

1. Teasing; tempting, especially that which is beyond reach.

   The tantalising theory that a fifth force of nature could exist has been given a boost thanks to unexpected wobbling by a subatomic particle, physicists have revealed.

   2023 August 11, Nicola Davis, “Scientists may be on brink of discovering fifth force of nature”, in The Guardian, archived from the original on 05 Dec 2023

   2 more examples

   ...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 bone with his naked hands, and wildly strove to wrench it from its gripe.

   1851, Herman Melville, chapter 133, in Moby Dick

   It was a tantalizing promise, delivered with Donald Trump’s trademark panache: As dealmaker in chief, he would quickly end world conflicts that had defied his predecessors and their nattily dressed legions of career diplomats.

   2025 April 24, Ned Temko, “Trump’s ‘quick fix’ approach to diplomacy slow to yield results”, in The Christian Science Monitor, archived from the original on 24 Jul 2025

1. gerundparticiplepresentpresent participle and gerund of tantalize

plural tantalizings

1. teasing temptation

   […] my resources against depressing thoughts and languor, amid the tantalizings of society […]

   1848, Spalding Club, Publications, number 18, Aberdeen, page 488