Tempt Meaning
/tɛmpt/Definition, CEFR level B2, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
Listen pronunciation
Definition
verbTo provoke someone to do wrong, especially by promising a reward; to entice.
verbTo attract; to allure.
Sentence Examples
Nothing would tempt me to deceive him.
Can I tempt you to try another piece of cake?
CEFR Practice Quiz
The aroma of freshly baked cookies will ____ customers to come inside the shop.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The delicious smell of the fresh chocolate cake was enough to ____ anyone who was trying to stay on a strict diet today.
Word Origin & History
From Middle English tempten, from Old French tempter (French: tenter), from Latin temptare, from tentare (“to handle, touch, try, test, tempt”), frequentative of tendere (“to stretch”). Displaced native English costning (“temptation”).
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"By Heav’ns, ſuch Virtues, join’d with ſuch Succeſs,
Diſtract my very Soul: Our Father’s Fortune
Wou’d almoſt tempt us to renounce his Precepts."
— 1712 (date written), [Joseph] Addison, Cato, a Tragedy. […], London: […] J[acob] Tonson, […], published 1713, →OCLC, Act I, scene i, page 2:
"Eveline Hill, the protagonist of the Dubliners story "Eveline," for example, successfully extricates herself from the confines of her "Eve" name since, like her nameling in the Garden of Eden who was tempted by promises of knowledge, Eveline, too, is tempted: […]"
— 1994, Claire A. Culleton, Names and Naming in Joyce:
"The next time you are trout fishing and none of your lures tempts the fish, smoke a spoon hook and cast it."
— 2008, Popular Mechanics, How to Tempt a Fish: A Complete Guide to Fishing, page 20:
Explore More B2 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
The aroma of freshly baked cookies will ____ customers to come inside the shop.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The delicious smell of the fresh chocolate cake was enough to ____ anyone who was trying to stay on a strict diet today.