1
as in to lure
to lead away from a usual or proper course by offering some pleasure or advantage
that chocolate dessert sure tempts me, but I should stick with my diet
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to risk
to take a chance on
refusing to lay in enough food for the long winter tempts the dangers of starvation
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of tempt
When winter is over, you may be tempted to store excess ice melt in your garden shed, but Roethling recommends against this.
—
Madeline Buiano, Martha Stewart, 4 Jan. 2026
After a thorough dusting, you may be tempted to call it a day and give up on the rest of the cleaning process, but that is unwise.
—Nafeesah Allen, Better Homes & Gardens, 4 Jan. 2026
Coulibaly loved his time with Kilmarnock, based a short drive south of Glasgow, but was tempted by an offer to head back overseas.
—Jay Harris, New York Times, 3 Jan. 2026
Get a blast from the past by visiting an Early American farm, shop a walkable downtown, or tempt your tastebuds with restaurants representing diverse cuisines—these are the 15 best things to do in Falls Church, Virginia.
—Tara Massouleh McCay, Southern Living, 3 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for tempt
Recent Examples of Synonyms for tempt
Verb
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Next June, electric bills across that region will absorb billions more dollars in higher wholesale electricity costs designed to lure new power plants to power data centers.—
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Her mechanism for luring victims involves a stick, someone’s hair, her blood, and another person stupid enough to let her through their front door.—
Verb
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For five years, the group from Mexico's National Autonomous University has climbed the volcano with pounds of equipment, risked data loss due to bad weather or a volcanic explosion and used artificial intelligence to analyze the seismic data.—
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The department said that their recovery efforts would risk a lengthy, unannounced closure and could damage the plow.—
Verb
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Released in 1994, Sátántangó (based on László Krasznahorka’s novel) chronicled an impoverished Hungarian village that becomes seduced by a would-be prophet who has seemingly come back from the dead.—
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This year, we were seduced by silver trays and a new take on the TV-dinner table.—
Verb
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Similar to fellow Arsenal summer signing Eberechi Eze — another keen chess player — the assumption would be that the skills taken from the board game have helped Zubimendi be a step ahead in enticing and then bypassing opposition players.—
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The algorithm, the Reddit user claimed, would save the higher-paying orders for casual drivers to entice them to use the app.—
Verb
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For their part, Samuel Adams and Paul Revere each worked hard to persuade Irishmen, Hessians, Indigenous people, and former slaves to defect to the patriot side.—
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The Running Point actress was spotted shopping for holiday presents last December with a hands-free bag strapped across her body, and just one 12-second TikTok clip persuaded us to dole out some change on a purse that’s just like hers.—
Verb
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The film may initially present Man-su as a sympathetic family man trying to make ends meet, but Lee quickly subverts those sentiments once Man-su’s methodical process betrays no sense of remorse.—
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They were eventually betrayed, arrested and sent to the Auschwitz death camp.—
Cite this Entry
“Tempt.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/tempt. Accessed 13 Jan. 2026.
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