beguiling
Americanadjective
adjective
-
charming or fascinating
-
using slyness to delude someone
Other Word Forms
- beguilingly adverb
Etymology
Origin of beguiling
First recorded in 1575–1600; beguil(e) ( def. ) + -ing 2 ( def. )
Explanation
Beguiling is an adjective that means "highly attractive and tempting," like the beguiling model/actress on the cover of a celebrity magazine. Beguiling is often used to describe a person, like a beautiful girl, but can also be used when referring to a place or an inanimate object, like an Italian sports car. But be careful — sometimes beguiling things are meant to trick you, like the beguiling salesperson who acts like a friend, only to make a sale. In fact, beguiling contains the word guile, meaning "deceit, fraud, ruse, trickery."
Vocabulary lists containing beguiling
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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.
He is asking for forgiveness for backing a faulty product, while also claiming to be a victim of its beguiling charms.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 22, 2026
The key player of the “love trapezoid,” as Raicek called it, is Damon, an urban cowboy of a jewelry designer who moves among three beguiling women, the narrator among them.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 16, 2026
That truck stop ease makes “All Dressed Up” beguiling.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 16, 2026
Smith agrees and his version of Bunny is more beguiling and dangerous, and his appeal makes his downfall harder to dismiss.
From BBC • Nov. 10, 2025
And that was the ultimate source of its beguiling charm.
From "Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation" by Joseph J. Ellis
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.
