What (who) is tantalize - definition

GREEK MYTHOLOGICAL FIGURE, SON OF ZEUS

Tantalos; Tántalos; Torment of Tantalus; Torment of tantalus; Tantalize; Τάνταλος

tantalize

(tantalizes, tantalizing, tantalized)

Note: in BRIT, also use 'tantalise'

If someone or something tantalizes you, they make you feel hopeful and excited about getting what you want, usually before disappointing you by not letting you have what they appeared to offer.

...the dreams of democracy that have so tantalized them.

VERB: V n

• tantalizing

A tantalising aroma of roast beef fills the air.

ADJ

• tantalizingly

She went away disappointed after getting tantalisingly close to breaking the record...

ADV: ADV adj, ADV with v, ADV with cl

Tantalize

·vt To tease or torment by presenting some good to the view and exciting desire, but continually frustrating the expectations by keeping that good out of reach; to Tease; to Torment.

tantalize

v. a.

Torment (by exciting hopes and refusing to gratify them), vex, tease, irritate, provoke, disappoint, balk, frustrate.

Wikipedia

Tantalus

Tantalus (Ancient Greek: Τάνταλος Tántalos) was a Greek mythological figure, most famous for his punishment in Tartarus: he was made to stand in a pool of water beneath a fruit tree with low branches, with the fruit ever eluding his grasp, and the water always receding before he could take a drink. He was also called Atys.

He was the father of Pelops, Niobe and Broteas, and was a son of Zeus and the nymph Plouto. Thus, like other heroes in Greek mythology such as Theseus (his great-great-grandson) and the Dioskouroi, Tantalus had both a hidden, divine parent and a mortal one.

The Greeks used the proverb "Tantalean punishment" (Ancient Greek: Ταντάλειοι τιμωρίαι: Tantáleioi timōríai) in reference to those who have good things but are not permitted to enjoy them. His name and punishment are also the source of the English word tantalize, meaning to torment with the sight of something desired but out of reach; tease by arousing expectations that are repeatedly disappointed.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tantalus

Pronunciation examples for tantalize

1. So I just wanna give you a little tour of the possibilities to tantalize you, the copies

Analyzing Social Media Networks with NodeXL _ Ben Shneiderman _ Talks at Google

Examples of use of tantalize

1. Just the names of the local species are enough to tantalize the taste buds –– sturgeon, Siberian white salmon, broad whitefish, Arctic grayling, cisco and burbot with its butter–soft liver.

2. Would–be authors of genocide have also seen that the CIA will offer them VIP treatment if they can tantalize the agency with tidbits of information about Americas enemies.