tempt Definition

tempt
verb tempted, tempting

1. To seek to attract and persuade someone to do something, especially something wrong or foolish.

Thesaurus: entice, lure, bait, tantalize, seduce, coax, enamor, woo, incite, draw, allure; Antonym: discourage, dissuade.
2. To attract or allure.
3. To be strongly inclined to do something.

Form: be tempted to
4. To risk provoking, especially by doing something foolhardy.

Example: tempt fate

Etymology: 13c: from French tempter, from Latin temptare ‘to probe' or ‘to test'.