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
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
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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The Outsiders
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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.
Carlos Alcaraz is targeting a career Grand Slam at the Australian Open but winning the only major to elude him will be no easy feat with great rival Jannik Sinner standing in his way.
From Barron's • Jan. 14, 2026
The Londoner - having previously lost in world championship bouts to Sergey Kovalev in 2019 and Artur Beterbiev in 2022 - may now have to accept the possibility that a world title might elude him.
From BBC • Nov. 22, 2025
She already felt guilty enough for her fatal misjudgment of Reckzeh, who would survive the war and repeatedly elude attempts to bring him to justice afterward.
From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 19, 2025
For a long while, Newsom’s shiftiness seemed to elude his self-perception.
From Slate • Aug. 26, 2025
After school I would stay in the library until it closed, just to elude the family’s overconcerned looks.
From "Red Scarf Girl: A Memoir of the Cultural Revolution" by Ji-li Jiang
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.
