verb
-
to escape or avoid (capture, one's pursuers, etc), esp by cunning
-
to avoid fulfilment of (a responsibility, obligation, etc); evade
-
to escape discovery, or understanding by; baffle
the solution eluded her
Usage
Elude is sometimes wrongly used where allude is meant: he was alluding (not eluding) to his previous visit to the city
Related Words
See escape.
Other Word Forms
- eluder noun
- elusion noun
Etymology
Origin of elude
First recorded in 1530–40; from Latin ēlūdere “to deceive, evade,” equivalent to ē- “from, out of” + lūdere “to play, deceive”; e- 1
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.
His comrades have been slowly picked off, and without human connections he has further transformed into a hunted animal, driven to elude his pursuers purely by “anger and desperation.”
The American figure skater was at her sport’s world championships, chasing a title that had eluded U.S. women for almost her entire lifetime.
"A world indoor medal has eluded Keely in the last five years, so it's something she's desperate to get in Poland in a few weeks' time."
From BBC
Investigators have been sifting through 40,000 leads since the 84-year-old was reported missing this month, but a breakthrough has eluded them despite emotional public appeals for help from her NBC presenter daughter.
From BBC
Gold eluded her at every turn, by excruciatingly small margins.
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.
