tantalise

tan·ta·lize

[tan-tl-ahyz]
verb (used with object), tan·ta·lized, tan·ta·liz·ing.
to torment with, or as if with, the sight of something desired but out of reach; tease by arousing expectations that are repeatedly disappointed.
Also, especially British, tan·ta·lise.


Origin:
1590–1600; Tantal(us) + -ize

tan·ta·li·za·tion, noun
tan·ta·liz·er, noun
un·tan·ta·lized, adjective


provoke, taunt, tempt; frustrate.


satisfy.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
Cite This Source Link To tantalise
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World English Dictionary
tantalize or tantalise (ˈtæntəˌlaɪz) [Click for IPA pronunciation guide]
 
vb
(tr) to tease or make frustrated, as by tormenting with the sight of something greatly desired but inaccessible
 
[C16: from the punishment of Tantalus]
 
tantalise or tantalise
 
vb
 
[C16: from the punishment of Tantalus]
 
tantali'zation or tantalise
 
n
 
tantali'sation or tantalise
 
n
 
'tantalizer or tantalise
 
n
 
'tantaliser or tantalise
 
n
 
'tantalizing or tantalise
 
adj
 
'tantalising or tantalise
 
adj
 
'tantalizingly or tantalise
 
adv
 
'tantalisingly or tantalise
 
adv

00:10
Tantalise is always a great word to know.
So is interrobang. Does it mean:
a gadget; dingus; thingumbob.
a printed punctuation mark (‽), available only in some typefaces, designed to combine the question mark (?) and the exclamation point (!), indicating a mixture of query and interjection, as after a rhetorical question.
tantalize or tantalise (ˈtæntəˌlaɪz) [Click for IPA pronunciation guide]
 
vb
(tr) to tease or make frustrated, as by tormenting with the sight of something greatly desired but inaccessible
 
[C16: from the punishment of Tantalus]
 
tantalise or tantalise
 
vb
 
[C16: from the punishment of Tantalus]
 
tantali'zation or tantalise
 
n
 
tantali'sation or tantalise
 
n
 
'tantalizer or tantalise
 
n
 
'tantaliser or tantalise
 
n
 
'tantalizing or tantalise
 
adj
 
'tantalising or tantalise
 
adj
 
'tantalizingly or tantalise
 
adv
 
'tantalisingly or tantalise
 
adv

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History

tantalize
1590s, from L. Tantalus, from Gk. Tantalos, king of Phrygia, son of Zeus, punished in the afterlife (for an offense variously given) by being made to stand in a river up to his chin, under branches laden with fruit, all of which withdrew from his reach whenever he tried
to eat or drink. His story was known to Chaucer (c.1369).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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