tantalizing

English

Adjective

tantalizing (comparative more tantalizing, superlative most tantalizing)

Teasing; tempting, especially that which is beyond reach.
- 1851, Herman Melville, chapter 133, in Moby Dick:
  ...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.

Derived terms

tantalizingly

Translations

teasing, desirable, but out of reach

Chinese:
Mandarin: 挑逗性的
French: alléchant (fr)
German: reizend (de), verführerisch (de), verlockend (de), aufreizend (de), spannend (de), quälend (de)

Italian: allettante (it)
Russian: манящий (ru) (manjaščij)
Spanish: tentador (es) m

Verb

tantalizing

present participle of tantalize

Noun

tantalizing (plural tantalizings)

teasing temptation
- 1848, Spalding Club, Aberdeen, Publications (issue 18, page 488)
  […] my resources against depressing thoughts and languor, amid the tantalizings of society […]

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