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Synonyms

alluring

American  
[uh-loor-ing] / əˈlʊər ɪŋ /

adjective

  1. very attractive or tempting; enticing; seductive.

  2. fascinating; charming.


alluring British  
/ əˈljʊərɪŋ, əˈlʊə- /

adjective

  1. enticing; fascinating; attractive

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

  • alluringly adverb
  • alluringness noun
  • unalluring adjective
  • unalluringly adverb

Etymology

Origin of alluring

First recorded in 1525–35; allure + -ing 2

Explanation

Something alluring is attractive and enticing. Alluring things are tempting. You might notice the word lure lurking in alluring — that's because alluring things lure people in by getting them excited and inspiring desire. Sometimes that's in a romantic way, like when someone puts on an alluring perfume before a date. But a homemade chocolate cake would also be pretty alluring to a chocolate lover, just as free World Series tickets would be alluring to a baseball fan.

Keep Reading on Vocabulary.com

Vocabulary lists containing alluring

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.

Captive in bucolic panopticons, their lives are at once aesthetically alluring, depressingly regressive and anthropologically fascinating.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 7, 2026

Photographed by Manu Dacosse in a simple but alluring black and white, with similarly naturalistic production design by Katia Wyszkop, the film is exquisitely imagined without being self-aggrandizingly gorgeous.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 2, 2026

But the electorate appear to be telling Labour at the moment experience is a double-edged sword and the prospect of the new and novel appears alluring to many.

From BBC • Jan. 23, 2026

Add it all together and gold looks ever-more alluring.

From Barron's • Jan. 23, 2026

Instead, when he’d met my gaze for a jolting moment, I’d seen life bursting through, chaotic and alluring beneath the shadow of the mask.

From "An Ember in the Ashes" by Sabaa Tahir