Myth & LegendGreek → English
Tantalize
To tease by offering something just out of reach.
The Greek roots
Τάνταλος
Tántalos
Tantalus
Literally: “to torment like Tantalus”
Follow a root:Τάνταλος2 words
The story of the word
Tantalus stood in water that receded when he stooped to drink, under fruit that drew back when he reached — his eternal torment named the verb.
The same roots elsewhere
Other languages reached for exactly the same Greek pieces.
In a sentence
The smell of bread tantalized the hungry travellers.