beguile

Beguile means to mislead through trickery or flattery, or to deceive someone in order to swindle them out of something.

Beguile can also mean to charm in a good way—you can be beguiled by an interesting person or a book that really captures your imagination, for example. Someone or something that’s charming in such a way can be described as beguiling.

All senses of the word can imply a sense of magic or enchantment. There are several similar verbs that often have magical feel, such as charm, enchant, bewitch, enrapture, and enthrall.

Example: He beguiled his victims with a charm that left them unable to see the deception that was taking place.

The first records of beguile in English come from around 1200. It comes from the Middle English word bigilen. It’s based on the word guile, which can mean “cleverness,” “craftiness,” or “deceptiveness.” The prefix be- is used to form verbs and in this case means “to affect completely or excessively” (it’s found in words like bewitch and bedazzle).

If you have been beguiled by someone, it means you have fallen under their charm. When used this way, the term often implies that their hold on you is like some kind of magic. Whether it’s good magic or bad magic depends on what their motives are. Sometimes, they’re pure, and the experience is enchanting. Other times, the beguiler’s intentions are evil, and they are trying to trick you into doing something. Con artists and swindlers beguile. If you have been beguiled of something, it means it has been taken from you through some form of deception.

What are some other forms related to beguile?

• beguiling (adjective)
• beguiler (noun)
• beguilement (noun)
• unbeguiled (adjective)

What are some synonyms for beguile?

• charm
• enchant
• bewitch
• entrance
• enthrall
• deceive
• cheat
• seduce

What are some words that share a root or word element with beguile? 

• guile
• guileful
• guileless

What are some words that often get used in discussing beguile?

• charming
• intriguing
• sneaky
• money
• time

Beguile is often used in a negative way to refer to the act of deceiving people. But it’s also commonly used to refer to a positive kind of charming.

Polly Toynbee wisdom: "Never be beguiled by false promises of simplicity, because people's circumstances don't come in one size".

— @JoeCushnan (Sometimes words can serve me well…) (@JoeCushnan) November 13, 2010

Happy bday writer/teacher Mary Ellen Chase, b.1887 in ME.

“It is quite possible to leave your home for a walk in the early morning air and return a different person – beguiled, enchanted.” “The greatest danger in any argument is real issues often are clouded by superficial ones”

— Matthew Dowd (@matthewjdowd) February 24, 2020

love to be beguiled……….. hate to be befuddled

— Nick Robinson (@Babylonian) December 15, 2018

Which of the following terms is NOT a synonym for beguile?

A. cheat
B. mislead
C. charm
D. disgust