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tempter

tempter

1 7.3
Someone or something that tries to make a person do something wrong
  • noun
  • /ˈtɛmptər/
translation icon : tentador
  • The tempter tried to convince her to skip class, but she remained determined to study.
  • tempter and conscience

I mean, addicts have often talked about their substance as something that almost has a life of its own as a tempter.

Examples

  • I recognize that voice-- the tempter, the challenger, the seducer, the friend.

  • Mara is an eloquent tempter in Buddhism who lures people to see the negative as positive, the false as the truth.

    Academic text (2015)
  • And I never had any sense that the third person, the new lover, was a temptress or tempter.

    Blog text (19)
  • Some have seen in Menalque a diabolical tempter.

    Academic text (1992)
  • We have the Devil with all his tainted angels and his two tempters.

    Blog text (33)
  • Iblis, for example, is widely believed to be a tempter, to incite illicit love, and to be present at all musical festivals (Rasmussen 1995).

    Academic text (2005)
  • Everywhere he turned, the tempter whispered promises of quick pleasure that led to regret.

  • Despite his better judgment, he found himself listening to the tempter's seductive suggestions.

Synonyms

seducer
vstempter
1 6.9

A person who tries to make others do wrong things

covers temptation to wrong or unwise acts and includes objects as well
tantalizer
vstempter
  • US
1 8.6

A person who teases by showing something someone wants but not giving it

tempts to do wrong or unwise acts rather than merely teasing desire

Compounds

the Tempter
  • Literature
9.9

A figure like Satan who tries to make people do wrong

How Tempting

devil
  • Literature
318 5.3
seducer
1 6.9
tempter
1 7.3
persuader
2 3.7

Surface Forms

tempter singular
tempters plural

Morphology

tempter = tempt (transparent) = tempt + er

The noun is a straightforward agent nominalization from the verb 'tempt' using the productive suffix '-er', so its meaning is directly derived.

Etymology

Tempter comes from the old root tempt- meaning 'to try' or 'to touch'. It is the same root as tempt and attempt, so a tempter is someone who 'tries' or tests you into making a bad or unwise choice.