Dictionary

elusive en · ADJ

Pronunciation

• audio Maryland
• /ɪˈlʉː.sɪv/ (Australia)
• /iˈl(j)u.sɪv/ (Canada, US)
• [iˈl(j)u.zɪv] (Canada, US)
• audio Brisbane
• /ɪˈl(j)u.sɪv/ (Canada, US)
• /iˈl(j)uː.sɪv/ (Received-Pronunciation)
• /ɪˈl(j)uː.sɪv/ (Received-Pronunciation)
• [iˈl(j)uː.zɪv] (Received-Pronunciation)
• [ɪˈl(j)uː.zɪv] (Received-Pronunciation)
• /əˈlʉː.sɪv/ (Australia)
• /əˈlʉː.səv/ (New-Zealand)
• /əˈl(j)u.sɪv/ (Canada, US)
• [ɪˈl(j)u.zɪv] (Canada, US)

Etymology

From Latin elusus, past participle of eludo (“to parry a blow, to deceive”).

Meanings

1. Evading capture, comprehension or remembrance.
   • The temporary elusive goal / To reach the solace, to feed once more upon the synthetic reaper of loss / No matter the outcome, the cost 2002, Meshuggah, Closed Eye Visuals:
   • The elusive criminal was arrested
2. Difficult to make precise.
   • Charley chased the elusive idea through all the nooks and crannies of his drowning consciousness. 1910, Jack London, chapter 6, in Lost Face, archived from the original on 14 Apr 2011:
   • A precise definition of diarrhea is elusive 2010, Robbins & Cotran Pathologic Basis of Disease:
3. Rarely seen.
   • While you're sniffing the trunks of the ponderosas to see if they're butterscotch, vanilla, strawberry, or the elusive chocolate variety, watch for Brown Creepers, an elusive variety of bird. 2002, Scott Roederer, Birding: Rocky Mountain National Park, page 93:

Forms

Deriveds

elusiveness · elusively · unelusive

Relateds

elude

Synonyms

elusory

Translations (62)

bg неуловим (evading capture, comprehension or remembrance) · fr insaisissable (evading capture, comprehension or remembrance) · cs nepolapitelný (evading capture, comprehension or remembrance) · pt fugidio (evading capture, comprehension or remembrance) · fi vaikeasti tavoiteltava (evading capture, comprehension or remembrance) · az ələkeçməz (evading capture, comprehension or remembrance) · nl moeilijk beschrijfbaar (difficult to describe) · fi vaikea kuvailla (difficult to describe) · es inexacto (difficult to describe) · es elusivo (evading capture, comprehension or remembrance) · ar مراوغ (evading capture, comprehension or remembrance) · fa مرموز (evading capture, comprehension or remembrance) · pl nieuchwytny (difficult to describe) · pt elusivo (difficult to describe) · fa گریزان (evading capture, comprehension or remembrance) · ru ускользающий (evading capture, comprehension or remembrance) · fi vaikeasti kuvailtava (difficult to describe) · fr obscur (difficult to describe) · ru неуловимый (evading capture, comprehension or remembrance) · es ambiguo (difficult to describe) · es huidizo (evading capture, comprehension or remembrance) · fa فراری (evading capture, comprehension or remembrance) · et ebamäärane (difficult to describe) · sh lukav (evading capture, comprehension or remembrance) · la fugāx (evading capture, comprehension or remembrance) · fr évasif (evading capture, comprehension or remembrance) · ca elusiu (evading capture, comprehension or remembrance) · el φευγαλέος (evading capture, comprehension or remembrance) · de flüchtig (evading capture, comprehension or remembrance) · de schwer zu beschreiben (difficult to describe) · es inaprensible (evading capture, comprehension or remembrance) · ru труднодостижимый (difficult to describe) · io nekaptebla (evading capture, comprehension or remembrance) · it elusivo (evading capture, comprehension or remembrance) · pl nieuchwytny (evading capture, comprehension or remembrance) · ro evaziv (evading capture, comprehension or remembrance) · fi välttelevä (evading capture, comprehension or remembrance) · nl ongrijpbaar (evading capture, comprehension or remembrance) · fr rare (evading capture, comprehension or remembrance) · ar متملص (evading capture, comprehension or remembrance) · cmn 难以捉摸 (difficult to describe) · el ασύλληπτος (evading capture, comprehension or remembrance) · de schwierig (difficult to describe) · vi khó tả (difficult to describe) · cmn 难以琢磨 (difficult to describe) · he חֲמַקְמָק (evading capture, comprehension or remembrance) · es indefinible (difficult to describe) · bg изплъзващ се (evading capture, comprehension or remembrance) · de schwer fassbar (difficult to describe) · sv gäckande (evading capture, comprehension or remembrance) · eo nekaptebla (evading capture, comprehension or remembrance) · pt elusivo (evading capture, comprehension or remembrance) · sh neuhvatljiv (evading capture, comprehension or remembrance) · fi hämärä (evading capture, comprehension or remembrance) · es esquivo (evading capture, comprehension or remembrance) · sh prepreden (evading capture, comprehension or remembrance) · de schwer fassbar (evading capture, comprehension or remembrance) · es escurridizo (evading capture, comprehension or remembrance) · fr ambigu (difficult to describe) · cmn 难以描述的 (difficult to describe) · es impreciso (difficult to describe) · et puiklik (evading capture, comprehension or remembrance)