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Enchant vs Tantalize - What's the difference?

enchant | tantalize |

As verbs the difference between enchant and tantalize

is that enchant is to attract and delight, to charm while tantalize is to tease (someone) by offering something desirable but keeping it out of reach.

enchant

English

Alternative forms

* enchaunt (obsolete) * inchant (obsolete) * inchaunt (obsolete)

Verb

(en verb)
  • To attract and delight, to charm.
  • * 2012 October 31, David M. Halbfinger, "[http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/01/nyregion/new-jersey-continues-to-cope-with-hurricane-sandy.html?hp]," New York Times (retrieved 31 October 2012):
    • New Jersey was reeling on Wednesday from the impact of Hurricane Sandy, which has caused catastrophic flooding here in Hoboken and in other New York City suburbs, destroyed entire neighborhoods across the state and wiped out iconic boardwalks in shore towns that had enchanted generations of vacationgoers.
  • To cast a spell over.
  • * 2009 , Pathfinder Roleplaying Game: Bestiary , Paizo Publishing, ISBN 978-1-60125-183-1, page 241
    • With the aid of his eponymous pipes, a satyr is capable of weaving a wide variety of melodic spells designed to enchant others and bring them in line with his capricious desires.

    Derived terms

    * enchanted * enchanter * enchanting * enchantment * enchantress

    tantalize

    English

    Verb

    (tantaliz)
  • to tease (someone) by offering something desirable but keeping it out of reach
  • to bait (someone) by showing something desirable but leaving them unsatisfied

    • Quotations

    * 1880 — *: They could not bear to be tantalized nor tortured by the splendid delusion. * 1884 — , section 22 *: All pleasures palled upon me; all sights tantalized and tempted me to outspoken treason, because I could not but compare what I saw in Two Dimensions with what it really was if seen in Three, and could hardly refrain from making my comparisons aloud. * 1895 — , Ch. XV *: He had been possessed of much fear of his friend, for he saw how easily questionings could make holes in his feelings. Lately, he had assured himself that the altered comrade would not tantalize him with a persistent curiosity, but he felt certain that during the first period of leisure his friend would ask him to relate his adventures of the previous day. * *: “It was—simply amazing,” she repeated abstractedly. “But I swore I wouldn’t tell it and here I am tantalizing you.” * 1936 — , Ch. IX *: As we threaded our dim way through the labyrinth with the aid of map and compass ... we were repeatedly tantalized by the sculptured walls along our route. ... If we had had more films, we would certainly have paused briefly to photograph certain bas-reliefs, but time-consuming hand-copying was clearly out of the question.

    Related terms

    * tantalizing