Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
The Collaborative International Dictionary
Tantalize \Tan"ta*lize\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Tantalized; p. pr. & vb. n. Tantalizing.] [From Tantalus: cf. F. tantaliser.] To tease or torment by presenting some good to the view and exciting desire, but continually frustrating the expectations by keeping that good out of reach; to tease; to torment.
Thy vain desires, at strife
Within themselves, have tantalized thy life.
--Dryden.
Syn: To tease; vex; irritate; provoke.
Usage: Tantalize, Disappoint. To disappoint is literally to do away with what was (or was taken to be) appointed; hence the peculiar pain from hopes thus dashed to the ground. To tantalize, a much stronger term, describes a most distressing form of disappointment, as in the case of Tantalus, the Phrygian king. To tantalize is to visit with the bitterest disappointment -- to torment by exciting hopes or expectations which can never be realized.
Douglas Harper's Etymology Dictionary
mid-17c., present participle adjective from tantalize. Related: Tantalizingly.
Wiktionary
teasing; tempting, but beyond reach. n. teasing temptation v
(present participle of tantalize English)
WordNet
adj. arousing desire or expectation for something unattainable or mockingly out of reach; "a tantalizing taste of success" [syn: tantalising]
very pleasantly inviting; "a tantalizing aroma"; "a tempting repast" [syn: tantalising, tempting]
Usage examples of "tantalizing".
In the MJ-12 documents there are tantalizing references to appendices about the nature of the aliens, the technology of their ships and so on, but the appendices were not included in the mysterious film.
How tempting, how tantalizing, Bree thought, wishing it had come ages ago without prompting, without the need to rectify their undeclared war on each other.
The sea-freshened air brought with it the fragrance of jasmine which bloomed alongside the veranda, mingled with the tantalizing aroma of hot, glazed meats, bread, brewed coffee, and tangy fresh fruits that graced the table for the morning meal and presented to Captain Beauchamp as he paused in the doorway a most heavenly scent after long months of sea fare.
Particularly the scent of desire which must even now be rising from her skin, too faint for a Terran to notice, but rich and tantalizing to the Medusan senses.
Bit by tantalizing bit, the illithid forced the merrow back toward the large oval pool at the rear of her audience chamber.
How could he give up the tantalizing, if so far frustrating, prospect of having her body next to his every night and in the fullness of time sleeping with her in the metonymical meaning of the expression?
With each step she took, the slit sides in the overdress gave tantalizing glimpses of her voluptuous figure, so snugly encased in the undergown.
A tantalizing forescent of virgin beaches and unhunted seas wafted through his mind.
He did it from pure selfishness, and because he was determined to possess the most illusive, tantalizing, elegant, and utterly unmoral little creature that the sun shone upon.
When sexual appeal and a tantalizing nimbus wrapped around them and exuded a neediness after being deprived of enjoyment by an uncaring or deceased husband, Antonio was always willing to accommodate them.
His working day had started unpropitiously, since an aeroplane survey of the nearly-exposed rock surfaces showed an entire absence of those Archaean and primordial strata for which he was looking, and which formed so great a part of the colossal peaks that loomed up at a tantalizing distance from the camp.
High the excitement of anticipation was like the aroma of a fresh-baked apple pie, cinnamony and sugary, sweet, tart and tantalizing.
She smiled at him, a slow, tantalizing smile, and leaned deliberately closer so that he could not fail to appreciate the deep decolletage of her dress.
Instead, she was hardheaded, confident, and so tantalizing he could think of little else but making love with her again.
He could begin work on the outer structure of that tantalizing icosahedral capsidthe protein overcoat worn by the carrier virus.