Enticing

How to spell enticing

8 letters · 3 syllables

How to pronounce enticing

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does enticing mean?

1. adjectiveAttractive or tempting in a way that makes someone want it.

Enticing in a sentence

• The restaurant menu listed several enticing desserts.

• The holiday brochure made the beach resort look very enticing.

Where does enticing come from?

Language of origin: French

This word traces back to the Old French verb enticier, meaning 'to incite, provoke, or stir up', which English borrowed in the 1300s and reshaped as 'entice'. The French verb most likely came from an unrecorded Vulgar Latin form intitiare, built on titio, a Latin word for a burning brand or firebrand, so the underlying image was literally 'to set alight' or 'to kindle'. That fiery sense softened over time into the modern idea of tempting or luring someone toward something attractive. The adjective 'enticing' is simply the present participle of 'entice', describing whatever does the luring. A useful spelling cue is that it keeps the silent 'e'-driven 'ice' sound from 'entice', written 'tic' before the ending, which is why the tricky middle is -ti-c-ing rather than -ti-s-ing.

How the word is built

• en- (to cause, put into)
• tice (from Old French enticier: to provoke, lure)
• -ing (adjective/participle suffix)