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Comment by IncRnd | Hacker News Reader

Tempt doesn't have the connotation that you believe it to have. When you tempt you entice, regardless of whether the person you are tempting considers acting on your enticement.

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Meaning the action needs to be enticing, even if they are not considering it.

No, I think he's right. A chocolate cake may be tempting to you but not to me.

Thank you. I have learned more about the word, tempt. It can be a verb with an object or a verb without an object. Therefore, either use is correct, but the meaning differs slightly betweem them. I can tempt you with cake, but in return you might not be tempted by the cake.

Not really. You can attempt to tempt someone with cake, but to succeed in tempting them they'd have to experience temptation.

Actually, what I wrote is true. Look at the definitions of tempt in order to see this.

  Definition of tempt
  transitive verb

  1: to entice to do wrong by promise of pleasure or gain
  2a: to induce to do something
   b: to cause to be strongly inclined
      was tempted to call it quits
  3a: to try presumptuously : PROVOKE
      tempt fate
   b: to risk the dangers of
   c: obsolete : to make trial of : TEST

[1] https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tempt

Yes, that supports what I'm saying.

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