Learn Arabic › B2 › سَوَّل
سَوَّل
to tempt someone into wrongdoing, to make a bad act seem easy or appealing /ˈsaw.wa.la/
verbB2#3284 most common
Also: to entice, to prompt (someone) toward something wrong, to make (an act) seem tempting
Example sentences
سَوَّلَ لَهُ صَدِيقُهُ الْكَذِبَ.
His friend tempted him into lying.
سَوَّلَتْ لَهَا نَفْسُهَا الْهُرُوبَ.
Her soul tempted her to run away.
سَوَّلَ الشَّيْطَانُ لِلرَّجُلِ سَرِقَةَ الْمَالِ.
Satan tempted the man into stealing the money.
سَوَّلَتْ لَهُ نَفْسُهُ قَتْلَ أَخِيهِ فَقَتَلَهُ.
His soul tempted him to kill his brother, and so he killed him.
قَالَ بَلْ سَوَّلَتْ لَكُمْ أَنفُسُكُمْ أَمْرًا فَصَبْرٌ جَمِيلٌ.
He said, "No, your souls have tempted you into something, so patience is fitting."
لَا يَنْبَغِي أَنْ تَدَعَ شَهَوَاتِكَ تُسَوِّلُ لَكَ ارْتِكَابَ مَا يُغْضِبُ رَبَّكَ.
You should not let your desires tempt you into doing what angers your Lord.
Conjugation
| Present Active | Simple Past Active | Simple Future Active | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1sg | أُسَوِّلُ | سَوَّلْتُ | سَأُسَوِّلُ |
| 2sg | تُسَوِّلُ | سَوَّلْتَ | سَتُسَوِّلُ |
| 3sg | يُسَوِّلُ | سَوَّلَ | سَيُسَوِّلُ |
| 1pl | نُسَوِّلُ | سَوَّلْنَا | سَنُسَوِّلُ |
| 2pl | تُسَوِّلُونَ | سَوَّلْتُمْ | سَتُسَوِّلُونَ |
| 3pl | يُسَوِّلُونَ | سَوَّلُوا | سَيُسَوِّلُونَ |
Word family
تَسْوِيلtempting, enticement toward wrongdoing
مُسَوِّلone who tempts or entices
تَسَوَّلَto beg
مُتَسَوِّلbeggar
Etymology
سَوَّل is a Form II verb built on the triliteral root س-و-ل. The root carries a base sense of something being made to look easy or agreeable, and doubling the middle radical turns that into an active, causative meaning: to make wrongdoing look tempting. Its most familiar uses come from the Quran, where a person's own نَفْس (soul or self) is described as the one doing the tempting. The same root also gives تَسَوَّل, meaning to beg, built on the idea of using persuasive words to solicit something from someone.
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