beguile
Americanverb (used with object)
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beguiles,
present (3rd person singular)
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beguiled,
past participle, past
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beguiling
present participle
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to influence by trickery, flattery, etc.; mislead; delude.
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to take away from by cheating or deceiving (usually followed byof ).
to be beguiled of money.
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to charm or divert.
a multitude of attractions to beguile the tourist.
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to pass (time) pleasantly.
beguiling the long afternoon with a good book.
verb
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to charm; fascinate
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to delude; influence by slyness
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to deprive (someone) of something by trickery; cheat (someone) of
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to pass pleasantly; while away
Usage
What does beguile mean? 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.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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beguilesimple
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beguilessimple
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have beguiledperfect
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has beguiledperfect
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am beguilingprogressive
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are beguilingprogressive
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is beguilingprogressive
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have been beguilingperfect progressive
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has been beguilingperfect progressive
Past
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beguiledsimple
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had beguiledperfect
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was beguilingprogressive
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were beguilingprogressive
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had been beguilingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of beguile
First recorded in 1175–1225, beguile is from the Middle English word bigilen. See be-, guile
Explanation
To beguile is to entertain and convince by flattery. Someone who beguiles is tricky and often charming, like when a smooth-talking friend tries to beguile you into giving them your allowance. The word beguile is from Middle English, and while guile involves deceit, to beguile means to spend time pleasantly, even if it involves trickery. If someone beguiles you for an afternoon, you were amused, entertained, or otherwise pleased. The word can also have a darker tone, as when the person who beguiled you for the afternoon was actually trying to steal your car. Con artists and cat videos tend to beguile people.
Vocabulary lists containing beguile
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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.
See Examples For:
Edward Brooke-Hitching supplies all sorts of tidbits to beguile readers ages 7-9 in this entertaining compendium.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 21, 2025
In the years since, the pinwheels have continued to fascinate, beguile and confound us.
From Scientific American ● Aug. 18, 2023
English Heritage is not alone in its efforts to beguile visitors with historical treats.
From Salon ● Aug. 8, 2023
But it’s the meditative quality of the language that is set to beguile.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 30, 2022
“Do you think you can beguile this conclave with your baubles and vanity? We are not so base as to be dazzled by shiny things.”
From "Scythe" by Neal Shusterman
In “Autumn Meeting,” a Budapest seductress beguiles an out-of-work jockey with romantic tales of love spurned.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 8, 2026
It’s an idea that always beguiles but never delivers.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 17, 2024
It trails across the ground, flutters in the air and beguiles you, just like this film.
From New York Times ● Mar. 28, 2024
You need a thing that beguiles its way into people’s lives and then beguiles them into becoming programmers.
From The Verge ● Mar. 8, 2022
It says thou hast no spirit's favour, That verse, which seemingly beguiles thee, Hath unto thee a Sanskrit savour.
From Enamels and Cameos and other Poems by Agnes Lee
The quest for a stable global order has long beguiled idealists and realists alike.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 29, 2026
Cricket is beguiled by her, and Olympia in turn is taken in by Cricket’s talent.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 8, 2026
It didn’t take long before the collecting passion had seized hold in earnest and I found myself beguiled by the decorative arts of yesteryear.
From Seattle Times ● Jul. 8, 2023
Their 8-year-old daughter, Princess Charlotte, beguiled onlookers in an ivory silk crepe dress by the designer Alexander McQueen — a miniature version of the dress worn by her mother.
From New York Times ● May 6, 2023
“Oh, I see. I’m the wicked Grisha seductress. I have beguiled you with my Grisha wiles!”
From "Six of Crows" by Leigh Bardugo
This, and a range of other publications hailing Asia’s economic “miracle” led Edwards to conclude “too many people believed the beguiling narrative” and as a consequence, “lent these economies cheap, abundant capital which was misallocated.”
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 8, 2026
In very different registers, three other films were equally beguiling.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 10, 2026
But his highly anticipated return to the sci-fi summer blockbuster, the brilliant and beguiling “Disclosure Day,” is Spielberg’s most shameless appeal toward idealism yet.
From Salon ● Jun. 13, 2026
Few embody a tortured, beguiling Americana quite like her.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 8, 2026
Low she sang in her beguiling voice, while on her loom she wove ambrosial fabric sheer and bright, by that craft known to the goddesses of heaven.
From "The Odyssey" by Homer
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
