seductive
Americanadjective
adjective
Usage
What does seductive mean? Seductive is used to describe someone who makes you want to engage in sexual activity with them, especially in a subtle or manipulative way. Seductive is also commonly used in a more general way to describe someone or something that tempts or influences someone to do something, especially something bad or something they wouldn’t normally do. Though this meaning of the word does not involve sex, it’s still often associated with the sense of the word that does. Both senses of the word often imply a subtle manipulation in which one’s motives are hidden. Seductive is the adjective form of the verb seduce. The act of seducing is called seduction. Example: There’s nothing I find more seductive in a person than the confidence to be who they are.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of seductive
First recorded in 1755–65; seduct(ion) + -ive
Explanation
Seductive is an adjective that describes the fascinating magnetic pull that someone or something has, an attractive quality that tempts you in some way. A seductive person catches your eye and won’t let it go. The word comes from the Latin seducere, meaning “draw aside.” When someone draws your attention aside from whatever you’re doing, that is a seductive person. Radio people often have seductive voices that lull you to sleep, and stores put their most seductive items in the front window in hopes that you’ll be tempted to come inside and buy them.
Vocabulary lists containing seductive
The SAT: Words to Capture Tone, List 4
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The New SAT: Words to Capture Tone
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The Catcher in the Rye
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Applebaum, a contributor to the Atlantic, recently published a book on eroding democratic norms called “Twilight of Democracy: The Seductive Lure of Authoritarianism.”
From Washington Post • Aug. 10, 2022
He is also the creator of “Mob City,” the neo-noir crime drama based on John Buntin’s 2009 book, “L.A. Noir: The Struggle for the Soul of America’s Most Seductive City.”
From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 19, 2020
Just as trend is followed by takedown, so this spring sees a potential debunking in the form of Natural: The Seductive Myth of Nature’s Goodness by American philosopher Alan Levinovitz.
From The Guardian • Mar. 14, 2020
Seductive color palettes, clever interplay of words and images, thoughtful paper craft — these are the factors that make illustrated books such desirable objects to read, touch and admire.
From New York Times • Nov. 27, 2019
Seductive as is Le Vigan by virtue of site and surroundings, I am sorry to have to say that the town is badly kept.
From The Roof of France by Betham-Edwards, Matilda
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
