Meanings
comparative more tempting · superlative most tempting
- Attractive, appealing, enticing.
It is tempting to speculate about the incentives or compulsions that might explain why anyone would take to the skies in [the] basket [of a balloon]: perhaps out of a desire to escape the gravity of this world or to get a preview of the next; […].
2013 June 7, David Simpson, “Fantasy of navigation”, in The Guardian Weekly, volume 188, number 26, page 36
- gerundparticiplepresentpresent participle and gerund of tempt
plural temptings
- The act of subjecting somebody to temptation.
If God doth suffer his own people and dearest children to be exposed to Satan's temptings and winnowings; Why should any man then doubt of his childship, doubt of his own everlasting condition, and say, that he is none of the child of God because he is tempted?
1646, William Bridge, On Temptation (sermon)
Synonyms & antonyms
adjectivehighly attractive and able to arouse hope or desire
adjectivevery pleasantly inviting
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Translations
Bulgarian примамлив, превлекателен
- примамлив (primamliv)attractive, appealing, enticing
- превлекателен (prevlekatelen)attractive, appealing, enticing
- съблазнителен (săblaznitelen)seductive, alluring, inviting
Catalan temptador, temptador
- temptadorattractive, appealing, enticing
- temptadorseductive, alluring, inviting
Chinese Mandarin 有吸引力的, 吸引人的
- 有吸引力的 (xīyǐnlì)attractive, appealing, enticing
- 吸引人的 (xīyǐn)attractive, appealing, enticing
- 誘人 /诱人的 (yòurén)seductive, alluring, inviting
- 誘惑 /诱惑的 (yòuhuò)seductive, alluring, inviting
Danish fristende
- fristendeattractive, appealing, enticing
Dutch verleidelijk
- verleidelijkattractive, appealing, enticing
Finnish houkutteleva, viehättävä
- houkuttelevaattractive, appealing, enticing
- viehättäväattractive, appealing, enticing
- houkuttelevaseductive, alluring, inviting
- vietteleväseductive, alluring, inviting
French tentant
- tentantattractive, appealing, enticing
German verführerisch, verlockend
- verführerischattractive, appealing, enticing
- verlockendattractive, appealing, enticing
- attraktivattractive, appealing, enticing
- verführerischseductive, alluring, inviting
- verlockendseductive, alluring, inviting
- einladendseductive, alluring, inviting
- reizendseductive, alluring, inviting
Greek δελεαστικός
- δελεαστικός (deleastikós)attractive, appealing, enticing
Hindi लोभन, लोभन
- लोभन (lobhan)attractive, appealing, enticing
- लोभन (lobhan)seductive, alluring, inviting
- आकर्षक (ākarṣak)seductive, alluring, inviting
Hungarian csábos, csábos
- csábosattractive, appealing, enticing
- csábosseductive, alluring, inviting
Indonesian menarik, memikat
- menarikattractive, appealing, enticing
- memikatattractive, appealing, enticing
- menarikseductive, alluring, inviting
- menggiurkanseductive, alluring, inviting
- menggairahkanseductive, alluring, inviting
Italian tentatore
- tentatoreattractive, appealing, enticing
Norwegian Bokmål fristende, fristende
- fristendeattractive, appealing, enticing
- fristendeseductive, alluring, inviting
Polish kusicielski, kusicielski
- kusicielskiattractive, appealing, enticing
- kusicielskiseductive, alluring, inviting
Portuguese tentador, tentador
- tentadorattractive, appealing, enticing
- tentadorseductive, alluring, inviting
Romanian tentant, tentant
- tentantattractive, appealing, enticing
- tentantseductive, alluring, inviting
Russian соблазни́тельный, привлека́тельный
- соблазни́тельный (soblaznítelʹnyj)attractive, appealing, enticing
- привлека́тельный (privlekátelʹnyj)attractive, appealing, enticing
- соблазни́тельный (soblaznítelʹnyj)seductive, alluring, inviting
- маня́щий (manjáščij)seductive, alluring, inviting
- привлека́тельный (privlekátelʹnyj)seductive, alluring, inviting
Spanish tentador, tentador
- tentadorattractive, appealing, enticing
- tentadorseductive, alluring, inviting
Ukrainian спокусливий
- спокусливий (spokuslyvyj)attractive, appealing, enticing
Cite this entry
tempting. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/tempting
“tempting.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/tempting. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “tempting,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/tempting.
Source: tempting on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.