A Topical Dictionary: Search for tantalize

Dictionary Results For "tantalize" [?]/[OPML]

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English

Etymology

From w:Tantalus|Tantalus (Τάνταλος) in Greek mythology, who was condemned to Tartarus in the underworld. There, he had to stand for eternity in water that receded from him when he stooped to drink, beneath fruit trees whose branches were always out of reach.

Pronunciation

IPA: /ˈtæntəlaɪz/
An audio transcript can be found at en-us-tantalize.ogg

Verb

to tease (someone) by offering something desirable but keeping it out of reach
to bait (someone) by showing something desirable but leaves them unsatisfied

Quotations

1880 — w:John Boyle O'Reilly|John Boyle O'Reilly, s:Moondyne|Moondyne
:They could not bear to be tantalized nor tortured by the splendid delusion.
1884 — w:Edwin Abbott Abbott|Edwin Abbott Abbott, s:Flatland|Flatland, section 22
:All pleasures palled upon me; all sights tantalized and tempted me to outspoken treason, because I could not but compare what I saw in Two Dimensions with what it really was if seen in Three, and could hardly refrain from making my comparisons aloud.
1895 — w:Stephen Crane|Stephen Crane, s:The Red Badge of Courage|The Red Badge of Courage, Ch. XV
:He had been possessed of much fear of his friend, for he saw how easily questionings could make holes in his feelings. Lately, he had assured himself that the altered comrade would not tantalize him with a persistent curiosity, but he felt certain that during the first period of leisure his friend would ask him to relate his adventures of the previous day.
1925 — w:F. Scott Fitzgerald|F. Scott Fitzgerald, s:The Great Gatsby|The Great Gatsby, Ch. 3
:“It was—simply amazing,” she repeated abstractedly. “But I swore I wouldn’t tell it and here I am tantalizing you.”
1936 — w:H. P. Lovecraft|H. P. Lovecraft, s:At the Mountains of Madness|At the Mountains of Madness, Ch. IX
:As we threaded our dim way through the labyrinth with the aid of map and compass ... we were repeatedly tantalized by the sculptured walls along our route. ... If we had had more films, we would certainly have paused briefly to photograph certain bas-reliefs, but time-consuming hand-copying was clearly out of the question.

GNU Project's publication of CIDE, the Collaborative International Dictionary of English 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.
[1913 Webster]

Thy vain desires, at strife
Within themselves, have tantalized thy life. --Dryden.
[1913 Webster]

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.
[1913 Webster]

WordNet tantalize
v : harass with persistent criticism or carping; "The children
teased the new teacher"; "Don't ride me so hard over my
failure"; "His fellow workers razzed him when he wore a
jacket and tie" [syn: tease, razz, rag, cod, tantalise,
bait, taunt, twit, rally, ride]

Moby Dictionary
affect the interest , allure , annoy , appeal , attract , badger ,
baffle , bait , balk , be attractive , becharm , beckon , bedevil ,
beleaguer , bewitch , bilk , captivate , carry away , cast down , charm ,
concern , cross , dash , defeat , defeat expectation , disappoint ,
disillusion , dissatisfy , draw on , enamor , endear , engage ,
enrapture , excite , excite interest , fascinate , fetch , foil ,
frustrate , gnaw , harass , harry , hold in thrall , infatuate ,
inflame with love , interest , invite , involve in , let down , pester ,
pique , plague , provoke , seduce , stimulate , summon , taunt , tease ,
tempt , thwart , tickle , titillate , torment , torture , vamp ,
whet the appetite

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