inviting

1. 1
   adjective

   Attractive or tempting in a way that makes someone want to come closer or take part.

   Like a lit doorway on a cold night that draws you in.

   The hotel lobby was warm and inviting, with deep armchairs near the fire.

   Her open smile made the whole room feel more inviting to newcomers.

   Similarwelcoming, appealing, attractive, tempting, enticing

   Oppositeuninviting, unwelcoming, forbidding, unappealing

   Note

   Here the participle has become a true adjective. It can be graded, as in more inviting and most inviting, which the verb form cannot. It often sits beside other words for a pleasant space: bright, airy, modern and inviting. To tell it from the participle of invite, add very: a very inviting room works, but a very inviting guests does not.

2. 2
   verb

   Present participle of invite.

   The committee is inviting local artists to submit their work.

   Inviting the neighbors over helped the family feel welcome in town.

   Note

   The working verb form is transitive, so it nearly always takes an object: inviting guests, inviting applications. It appears in progressive tenses (the committee is inviting artists). It also heads a gerund phrase that acts as a noun (inviting the neighbors over helped). A common pattern adds to plus a verb: inviting artists to submit work. When no object follows, the word has usually become the adjective meaning tempting.

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