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To put to trial; to prove; to test; to try. God did tempt Abraham. Gen. xxii. 1. Ye shall not tempt the Lord your God. Deut. vi. 16.

The quality or state of being temptable; lability to temptation.

Capable of being tempted; liable to be tempted. Cudworth.

The act of tempting, or enticing to evil; seduction. When the devil had ended all the temptation, he departed from him for a season. Luke iv. 13.

Having no temptation or motive; as, a temptationless sin. [R.] Hammond.

Tempting. [Prov. Eng.]

One who tempts or entices; especially, Satan, or the Devil, regarded as the great enticer to evil. "Those who are bent to do wickedly will never want tempters to urge them on." Tillotson. So glozed the Tempter, and his proem tuned. Milton.

Adapted to entice or allure; attractive; alluring; seductive; enticing; as, tempting pleasures. -- Tempt"ing*ly, adv. -- Tempt"ing*ness, n.

A woman who entices. She was my temptress, the foul provoker. Sir W. Scott.

or experiment of; to try; to endeavor to do or perform (some action); to assay; as, to attempt to sing; to attempt a bold flight. Something attempted, something done, Has earned a night's repose. Longfellow.

Capable of being attempted, tried, or attacked. Shak.

One who attempts; one who essays anything.

Disposed to attempt; adventurous. [Obs.] Daniel.

one regards that which is esteement mean, vile, or worthless; disdain; scorn. Criminal contempt of public feeling. Macaulay. Nothing, says Longinus, can be great, the contempt of which is great. Addison.

The quality of being contemptible; contemptibleness. Speed.

Worthy of contempt; deserving of scorn or disdain; mean; vile; despicable. Milton. The arguments of tyranny are ascontemptible as its force is dreadful. Burke.

The state or quality of being contemptible, or of being despised.

In a contemptible manner.

Manifecting or expressing contempt or disdain; scornful; haughty; insolent; disdainful. A proud, contemptious behavior. Hammond. Savage invectiveand contemptuous sarcasm. Macaulay. Rome . . . entertained the most contemptuous opinion of the Jews. Atterbury.

In a contemptuous manner; with scorn or disdain; despitefully. The apostles and most eminent Christians were poor, and used contemptuously. Jer. Taylor.