tantalizingadj.

Etymology: formed as tantalize v. + -ing suffix².Previous versions of the OED give the stress as: ˈtantalizing.

That tantalizes; tormenting by exciting desires which cannot be satisfied.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > will > motivation > attraction, allurement, or enticement > [adjective] > tantalizing

Tantalean?1605

tantalizinga1706

Tantalic1882

a1706 J. Evelyn Hist. Relig. (1850) I. iii. 206 Tantalizing and horrible torments.

1754 M. Delany Autobiogr. & Corr. (1861) III. 271 It was a tantalizing sort of entertainment to those who love dancing or eating.

1873 J. G. Holland Arthur Bonnicastle iii Answering all inquiries concerning it, with the tantalizing statement that it was ‘a secret’.

Derivatives

ˈtantalizingly adv.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > will > motivation > attraction, allurement, or enticement > [adverb]

alluringly1561

winning1596

magnetically1613

wooinglya1616

winningly1663

invitingly1667

enticingly1720

attractingly1753

seductively1843

tantalizingly1847

temptingly1878

sirenically1888

lurefully1891

luringly1897

come-hither1926

1847 Webster's Amer. Dict. Eng. Lang. Tantalizingly.

1864 Q. Rev. 116 151 There are few things in history more tantalisingly obscure.

ˈtantalizingness n.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > will > wish or inclination > desire > longing or yearning > [noun]

ondeeOE

yearningeOE

longingOE

forlonginga1250

mourningc1300

yering13..

eye-seke?c1500

panting1580

greening1584

smackeringa1586

brame1590

languora1599

earning1603

lingering1608

yawning1635

tantalizing1640

slavering1642

longingness1651

tantalization1654

twittering1668

hankering1678

honing1725

lech1796

yearna1797

languishment1817

yearningness1839

hanker1881

tantalizingness1889

yen1906

1889 Scribner's Mag. Nov. 555/2 Imagine the tantalizingness of this.

This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1910; most recently modified version published online June 2019).

ˈtantalizing n.

ΘΚΠ