# tantalize

/ˈtænəˌɫaɪz/ (US) · CEFR C1 · Verb

Source: https://englishreference.com/word/tantalize
Updated: 2026-07-29

## Definition

To tease someone by offering or showing something they want, then keeping it just out of reach.

For teachers: To torment or excite someone by presenting something desirable while deliberately keeping it out of reach; used especially of hints, glimpses, or promises that arouse desire or curiosity without ever satisfying it. Transitive, and common in the passive — to be tantalized by something.

## Examples

- The smell of dinner tantalized the hungry children.
- The company tantalized fans with a short teaser but refused to announce a release date.
- For years the sealed ruins tantalized archaeologists with hints of a hidden chamber that every excavation somehow failed to reach.

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From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.