tempt
/tɛmpt/verb
tempt is spelled T-E-M-P-T: 5 letters and one syllable. It appears 1.7 times per million words in written English, the 21,798th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a verb, tempt means “To provoke someone to do wrong, especially by promising a reward; to entice” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in tempt?
| Letters | 5: T-E-M-P-T |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 1.7 times per million words; the 21,798th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is tempt?
Tempt appears 1.7 times per million words in written English, the 21,798th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce tempt?
- US /tɛmpt/
- US /tɛmt/
Tempt has one syllable (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-tempt.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with tempt?
One word on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as tempt from its last stressed vowel (/ɛmpt/):
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of tempt
- tempts present, singular, he/she/it
- tempting participle, present
- tempted participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does tempt mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
verb
- 1
To provoke someone to do wrong, especially by promising a reward; to entice.
She tempted me to eat the apple.
- 2
To attract; to allure.
Its glossy skin tempted me.
- 3
To provoke something; to court.
It would be tempting fate.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Tempt in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | tenter , attirer |
| German | in Versuchung führen, versuchen , locken |
| Portuguese | tentar |
| Spanish | tentar, acodiciar, acudiciar |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does tempt come from?
From Middle English tempten, from Old French tempter (French: tenter), from Latin temptare, from tentare (“to handle, touch, try, test, tempt”), frequentative of tendere (“to stretch”). Displaced native English costning (“temptation”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).