elude
Americanverb (used with object)
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eludes,
present (3rd person singular)
-
eluded,
past participle, past
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eluding
present participle
verb
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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
Synonym Usage
See escape.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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eludesimple
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eludessimple
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have eludedperfect
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has eludedperfect
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am eludingprogressive
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are eludingprogressive
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is eludingprogressive
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have been eludingperfect progressive
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has been eludingperfect progressive
Past
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eludedsimple
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had eludedperfect
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was eludingprogressive
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were eludingprogressive
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had been eludingperfect progressive
Future
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”; see e- 1
Explanation
Elude means "evade or escape," like the way you might elude the other kids during a game of hide-and-seek. This word can also mean "to be hard to understand." No matter how hard you try, the finer points of quantum physics might elude you. Elude has a slippery feeling to it. You elude the police, math can elude you — and that yak you went to see on safari but never got a glimpse of, you might say that he has eluded you as well. Delude means "to deceive," and there are times when someone can both delude and elude you — like when the conman took your money and then escaped out the back door.
Vocabulary lists containing elude
The Vocabulary.com Top 1000
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Grade 9, List 1
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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:
But the kind of attention even her lesser work with Wagoner enjoyed continued to elude her own material.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 25, 2026
Amy Hunt retained her 100m title on Saturday and despite winning 200m silver at last year's World Championships, the national title continues to elude her.
From BBC ● Jun. 21, 2026
David, the American narrator of this groundbreaking novel by James Baldwin, has come to Paris hoping to elude his homosexuality.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 10, 2026
After disappearing in 1993, Messina Denaro managed to elude authorities for the next 30 years as the Italian state cracked down on the Sicilian mob.
From Barron's ● May 28, 2026
He says that the wild turkey, once abundant in the deciduous forests in these regions, is far more intelligent and can elude even practiced hunters.
From "Cat's Eye" by Margaret Atwood
It’s also likely that the true extent and reach of these secret sponsorships still eludes us.
From Slate ● Jun. 27, 2026
Not every collection is a success: a delicate red-orange shrimp daintily eludes the suction tube, swirling its long antenna as it swims almost triumphantly beyond reach.
From Barron's ● Jan. 26, 2026
That division once again spotlighted a painful truth for the bloc: basic political compromise to address Europe’s biggest challenges eludes the bloc.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 22, 2026
He reached the semi-finals of Masters, Grand Prix, European Championship and Grand Slam but that major title still eludes him.
From BBC ● Jan. 4, 2026
Attraction eludes control so stubbornly that whole societies designed to organize relationships among people cannot keep order, not even when they bind people to one another from childhood and raise them together.
From "The Woman Warrior" by Maxine Hong Kingston
He had eluded capture by setting up several camps in dense bush and despite several sightings by the public and on CCTV.
From Barron's ● Sep. 15, 2026
The revived interest in her work won her the respect at home that so long eluded her, and she created a massive yellow and black pumpkin sculpture for the Benesse Art Site on Naoshima Island.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 27, 2026
But an Emmy for his most sustained great performance — as theater director, podcaster and dip connoisseur Oliver Putnam on “Only Murders in the Building” — has eluded him thus far.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 12, 2026
He won a fifth title with Aston Villa in May - their win over Freiburg in Istanbul ending a 30-year trophy drought - but the Super Cup has eluded him.
From BBC ● Aug. 12, 2026
Turtle was so close to winning she could feel it, taste it, but still the answer eluded her.
From "The Westing Game" by Ellen Raskin
But eluding the music of rock royalty is no easy task.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 6, 2026
Peddemors netted again with a cross that found its way in after eluding several players before Beerensteyn rifled in from distance to double Wolfsburg's lead.
From Barron's ● Nov. 19, 2025
The origins of this personal subjective consciousness have been eluding researchers for decades.
From Salon ● May 26, 2025
Its narrative, which followed Br’er Rabbit and his attempts to live a life of bliss while eluding Br’er Fox and Br’er Bear, never really emotionally connected with me.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 11, 2024
“No,” Rick said; he grabbed at Phil Resch’s hand; Resch retreated, eluding him.
From "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?" by Philip K. Dick
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.
