Tantalisation
/ˌtæntəlaɪˈzeɪʃən/noun
The act of teasing or tormenting someone by offering something desirable and then withholding it.
Did you know?The word comes from Tantalus, the Greek mythological figure forever tormented by water and fruit just out of reach, making it one of English’s most literal words for cursed desire.
Etymological Timeline
Ancient Greek Myth
Greek
Tántalos
“Tantalus, a figure punished with unreachable water and fruit”
Late Latin
Latin
tantalus
“Tantalus, used as a learned mythological reference”
16th Century
English
tantalise
“To torment by presenting something desired and then withholding it”
18th Century
English
tantalisation
“The act or process of tantalising”
Modern English
English
tantalisation
“The act of teasing or tormenting by frustrating desire”
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