beguiling
Americanadjective
adjective
-
charming or fascinating
-
using slyness to delude someone
Other Word Forms
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
This Week in Words: March 30–April 5, 2019
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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.
Neat as some of his epigrams are, his characters talk a little too much, and the scenes in which Wilde dazzles some beguiling new historical personage with his repartee are a little too overextended.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 11, 2026
You can hear clear and compelling evidence of this on the opening track, “Jungle Roux,” in the beguiling falsetto on “Duvateen,” or the fascinating vocal treatment on “My Lover.”
From Salon ● Aug. 25, 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
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 smell of the snacks filled the street, sweet and beguiling.
From "The Underground Railroad: A Novel" by Colson Whitehead
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.
