MEANING
To excite desire through an attractive possibility that remains unavailable.
Use it for
Words that belong together
- tantalize with a promise
- tantalizing clue
On the page
The fragment tantalized her with a name she could not decipher.
Nearby words
Related words
Word forms
- Base
- tantalize
- Past tense
- tantalized
- Past participle
- tantalized
- Present participle
- tantalizing
Full tense & aspect guide
- Present
- tantalize
- Present continuous
- am/is/are tantalizing
- Present perfect
- have/has tantalized
- Present perfect continuous
- have/has been tantalizing
- Past
- tantalized
- Past continuous
- was/were tantalizing
- Past perfect
- had tantalized
- Past perfect continuous
- had been tantalizing
- Future
- will tantalize
- Future continuous
- will be tantalizing
- Future perfect
- will have tantalized
- Future perfect continuous
- will have been tantalizing
Choose the auxiliary that agrees with your subject. These are constructions of one word, not separate entries.
Usage notes
Primary category: literary / elevated general. Forms: tantalize; tantalizes; tantalized; tantalized; tantalizing Legacy lexical fields mirror sense 1 only. Use numbered sense fields for all meanings. Established modern English lexical item. No separate regional spelling or grammatical inflection entry. Writing functions: description, character, dialogue. Commonness: moderately common. Third-person singular: tantalizes.
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