Thy vain desires, at strife Within themselves, have
tantalized thy life. --Dryden.
Syn: To tease; vex; irritate; provoke.
Usage: {Tantalize}, {Disappoint}. To disappoint is literally
to do away with what was (or was taken to be)
appointed; hence the peculiar pain from hopes thus
dashed to the ground. To tantalize, a much stronger
term, describes a most distressing form of
disappointment, as in the case of Tantalus, the
Phrygian king. To tantalize is to visit with the
bitterest disappointment -- to torment by exciting
hopes or expectations which can never be realized.