tenter

to attempt, to tempt

verb tahn-TEH Less Common

Usage Note

Tenter is used both for making an attempt (tenter une expérience — to try an experiment) and for tempting someone (ça te tente? — does that tempt you?). The two senses overlap naturally: to be tempted is to feel drawn to attempt something. The adjective tentant means 'tempting', and tentation means 'temptation'.

Examples

"Il veut tenter sa chance ce soir."

Natural Translation

He wants to try his luck tonight.

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