seductive
Americanadjective
adjective
Usage
What does seductive mean? Seductive is used to describe someone who makes you want to engage in sexual activity with them, especially in a subtle or manipulative way. Seductive is also commonly used in a more general way to describe someone or something that tempts or influences someone to do something, especially something bad or something they wouldn’t normally do. Though this meaning of the word does not involve sex, it’s still often associated with the sense of the word that does. Both senses of the word often imply a subtle manipulation in which one’s motives are hidden. Seductive is the adjective form of the verb seduce. The act of seducing is called seduction. Example: There’s nothing I find more seductive in a person than the confidence to be who they are.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of seductive
First recorded in 1755–65; seduct(ion) + -ive
Explanation
Seductive is an adjective that describes the fascinating magnetic pull that someone or something has, an attractive quality that tempts you in some way. A seductive person catches your eye and won’t let it go. The word comes from the Latin seducere, meaning “draw aside.” When someone draws your attention aside from whatever you’re doing, that is a seductive person. Radio people often have seductive voices that lull you to sleep, and stores put their most seductive items in the front window in hopes that you’ll be tempted to come inside and buy them.
Vocabulary lists containing seductive
The SAT: Words to Capture Tone, List 4
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
The New SAT: Words to Capture Tone
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
The Catcher in the Rye
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
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.
Set against a slithering, seductive Chicago house beat, it’s really more of a command, one that the Queen of Pop immediately follows with another decree: “Come on, meet me on the dance floor.”
From Salon ● Jul. 8, 2026
The logic is seductive: Launch the data centers into orbit, where solar energy is abundant and land, water and local power grids are no longer constraints.
From Science Daily ● Jun. 19, 2026
The logic was simple and the math seductive: The U.S. imports less than 10% of its crude oil through that narrow waterway, accounting for a mere 2% of its total annual consumption.
From Barron's ● May 22, 2026
Platforms like ChatGPT, Claude, and Grok are all seductive to a degree.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 3, 2026
His proposal was seductive, and so was Smyrna, the most cosmopolitan city in the Near East.
From "Middlesex: A Novel" by Jeffrey Eugenides
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.
