tempt

English

Etymology

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”).

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation, General American) IPA^(key): /tɛmpt/, /tɛmt/

• Audio (General American):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɛmpt, -ɛmt

Verb

tempt (third-person singular simple present tempts, present participle tempting, simple past and past participle tempted)

1. (transitive) To provoke someone to do wrong, especially by promising a reward; to entice.

   Synonyms: entice, fand, lure, pander, tease

   She tempted me to eat the apple.

   • 1712 (date written), [Joseph] Addison, Cato, a Tragedy. […], London: […] J[acob] Tonson, […], published 1713, →OCLC, Act I, scene i, page 2:

     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.

   • 1994, Claire A. Culleton, Names and Naming in Joyce:

     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: […]

2. (transitive) To attract; to allure.

   Synonyms: beguile, entrance; see also Thesaurus:allure

   Its glossy skin tempted me.

   • 2008, Popular Mechanics, How to Tempt a Fish: A Complete Guide to Fishing, page 20:

     The next time you are trout fishing and none of your lures tempts the fish, smoke a spoon hook and cast it.

3. (transitive) To provoke something; to court.

   Synonyms: foment, urge; see also Thesaurus:incite

   It would be tempting fate.

Derived terms

Derived terms

• temptation
• tempter
• tempt fate
• temptful
• temptless
• temptly
• tempt providence
• temptress
• temptsome
• temptuous

Translations

to provoke someone to do wrong

• Albanian: tundoj (sq)
• Arabic: أَغْوَى (ʔaḡwā), أَغْرَى (ʔaḡrā)
• Armenian: please add this translation if you can
• Asturian: tentar
• Bulgarian: изкушавам (bg) (izkušavam)
• Catalan: temptar (ca)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: please add this translation if you can

• Danish: friste
• Dutch: verleiden (nl)
• Esperanto: tenti (eo)
• Finnish: vietellä (fi), viekoitella (fi)
• French: tenter (fr)
• Friulian: tentâ
• Galician: tentar (gl)
• Georgian: please add this translation if you can
• German: in Versuchung führen, versuchen (de)
• Greek:

  Ancient: πειράζω (peirázō)

• Hebrew: פיתה (he) (pitá), גירה (he) (gerá)
• Hungarian: kísért (hu), megkísért (hu)
• Icelandic: please add this translation if you can
• Italian: tentare (it)
• Japanese: 誘惑する (ゆうわく-する, yūwaku-suru)
• Kapampangan: tuksu
• Korean: please add this translation if you can
• Latin: tentō
• Latvian: kārdināt
• Macedonian: соблазни (soblazni)
• Norwegian: friste
• Plautdietsch: vesieekjen
• Polish: kusić (pl)
• Portuguese: tentar (pt)
• Romanian: tenta (ro)
• Russian: склоня́ть (ru) impf (sklonjátʹ), склони́ть (ru) pf (sklonítʹ), увещева́ть (ru) impf (uveščevátʹ), подбива́ть (ru) impf (podbivátʹ), подби́ть (ru) pf (podbítʹ)
• Sardinian: tenteare
• Scottish Gaelic: buair
• Spanish: tentar (es)
• Tagalog: tuksuhin
• Telugu: ప్రేరేపించు (te) (prērēpiñcu)
• Thai: please add this translation if you can
• Turkish: ayartmak (tr), baştan çıkarmak (tr), kanına girmek
• Tuvaluan: fakaosooso
• Venetan: tantar
• Vietnamese: xui (vi), xúi, xúi giục (vi)
• Volapük: blufodön (vo)

to attract, allure

• Arabic: أَغْرَى (ʔaḡrā)
• Bulgarian: съблазнявам (bg) (sǎblaznjavam)
• Catalan: temptar (ca)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 吸引 (zh) (xīyǐn), 誘惑 / 诱惑 (zh) (yòuhuò)

• Danish: lokke
• Dutch: lokken (nl), verlokken (nl)
• Esperanto: tenti (eo)
• Finnish: houkuttaa (fi)
• French: attirer (fr)
• German: locken (de)
• Hungarian: csábít (hu), csalogat (hu)
• Italian: tentare (it)
• Latvian: kārdināt
• Maori: whakapoapoa
• Norwegian: friste
• Polish: nęcić (pl) impf
• Portuguese: tentar (pt)
• Romanian: ispiti (ro)
• Russian: соблазня́ть (ru) impf (soblaznjátʹ), соблазни́ть (ru) pf (soblaznítʹ), искуша́ть (ru) impf (iskušátʹ), искуси́ть (ru) pf (iskusítʹ), прельща́ть (ru) impf (prelʹščátʹ), прельсти́ть (ru) pf (prelʹstítʹ)
• Scottish Gaelic: buair
• Telugu: ఎర వేయు (era vēyu)
• Turkish: cezbetmek (tr)
• Ukrainian: спокуша́ти (spokušáty), прива́блювати (pryvábljuvaty)
• Volapük: bätön (vo)

to provoke

• Bulgarian: провокирам (bg) (provokiram)
• Catalan: temptar (ca)
• Dutch: uitlokken (nl)
• Finnish: härnätä (fi)
• Hungarian: kísért (hu), kihív (hu)
• Polish: judzić (pl) impf, podjudzić pf
• Russian: провоци́ровать (ru) impf (provocírovatʹ), спровоци́ровать (ru) pf (sprovocírovatʹ)
• Scottish Gaelic: buair
• Telugu: రెచ్చగొట్టు (te) (reccagoṭṭu)
• Turkish: kışkırtmak (tr)

Further reading

• “tempt”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
• “tempt”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.
• “tempt”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.

Latvian

Verb

tempt (transitive, 1st conjugation, present tempju, temp, tempj, past tempu)

1. to gulp
2. to swill
3. to quaff

Conjugation

conjugation of tempt

	INDICATIVE (īstenības izteiksme)				IMPERATIVE (pavēles izteiksme)
		Present (tagadne)	Past (pagātne)	Future (nākotne)
1st pers. sg.	es	tempju	tempu	tempšu	—
2nd pers. sg.	tu	temp	tempi	tempsi	temp
3rd pers. sg.	viņš, viņa	tempj	tempa	temps	lai tempj
1st pers. pl.	mēs	tempjam	tempām	tempsim	tempsim
2nd pers. pl.	jūs	tempjat	tempāt	tempsiet, tempsit	tempiet
3rd pers. pl.	viņi, viņas	tempj	tempa	temps	lai tempj
RENARRATIVE (atstāstījuma izteiksme)			PARTICIPLES (divdabji)
Present	tempjot		Present Active 1 (Adj.)		tempjošs
Past	esot tempis		Present Active 2 (Adv.)		tempdams
Future	tempšot		Present Active 3 (Adv.)		tempjot
Imperative	lai tempjot		Present Active 4 (Obj.)		tempjam
CONDITIONAL (vēlējuma izteiksme)			Past Active		tempis
Present	temptu		Present Passive		—
Past	būtu tempis		Past Passive		—
DEBITIVE (vajadzības izteiksme)			NOMINAL FORMS
Indicative	(būt) jātempj		Infinitive (nenoteiksme)		tempt
Conjunctive 1	esot jātempj		Negative Infinitive		netempt
Conjunctive 2	jātempjot		Verbal noun		tempšana