inveigle
verb
transitive verb
Did you know?
Inveigle, a word that dates from the 16th century, refers to the act of using clever talk, trickery, or flattery either to persuade somebody to do something or to obtain something, but etymologically the word is linked to eyesight—or the lack thereof. Inveigle came to English from the Anglo-French verb enveegler, meaning "to blind or hoodwink someone," from the adjective enveugle, meaning "blind." Enveugle derives from the Medieval Latin ab oculis, a phrase which literally translates to "lacking eyes."
Example Sentences
Andrew Newman, Forbes, 4 May 2022 All of those thinly veiled efforts to inveigle an answer are met with a stock response. New York Times, 26 Nov. 2021 To reach Peru, Dr. Koepcke had to first get to a port and inveigle his way onto a trans-Atlantic freighter. New York Times, 18 June 2021 The two cell-surface proteins that SARS-CoV-2 uses to make contact with its target cells and inveigle its way into them would fit into this category. The Economist, 20 Aug. 2020 And, finally, he is lost at the very end of the world when he is sent on to Edinburgh, to inveigle his way into the affections of the Scottish King James VI, poised to become the English King James I upon Elizabeth’s death. Dominic Dromgoole, New York Times, 11 Feb. 2020 Great America Alliance used the same bite in 2017 to inveigle black voters away from Democrats, targeting Georgia’s 6th Congressional District’s special election, according to the Washington Post. Savannah Behrmann, USA TODAY, 27 Feb. 2020 None of Trump’s inveigling against the Justice Department, however, would be possible without the complicity of Attorney General Bill Barr and other political appointees. Matt Ford, The New Republic, 11 Feb. 2020 Hunter’s Timon tends more toward rough playfulness, interacting with the audience in the front rows with some edgy but not too disquieting banter, and getting laughs by inveigling the unctuous Painter into eating worms. Geoffrey O’brien, The New York Review of Books, 29 Jan. 2020 See More Word History
Anglo-French enveegler, aveogler, avogler to blind, hoodwink, from avogle, enveugle blind, from Medieval Latin ab oculis, literally, lacking eyes
1539, in the meaning defined at sense 1
Phrases Containing inveigle
Legal Definition
inveigle
transitive verb
U.S. Codeinveigle
verb
Synonyms & Similar Words
- persuade
- seduce
- lure
- entice
- beguile
- tempt
- draw in
- ensnare
- entrap
- betray
- snow
- bait
- enmesh
- allure
- solicit
- decoy
- trap
- lead on
- snare
- mesh
- bewitch
- captivate
- tangle
- rope (in)
- wile
- magnetize
- catch
- charm
- fascinate
- immesh
- enchant
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- warn
- alert
- caution
- ward (off)
- forewarn
- drive (away or off)
- turn away
- repulse
Synonym Chooser
Some common synonyms of inveigle are decoy, entice, lure, seduce, and tempt. While all these words mean "to lead astray from one's true course," inveigle implies enticing by cajoling or flattering.
While in some cases nearly identical to inveigle, decoy implies a luring into entrapment by artifice.
Although the words entice and inveigle have much in common, entice suggests drawing by artful or adroit means.
The words lure and inveigle can be used in similar contexts, but lure implies a drawing into danger, evil, or difficulty through attracting and deceiving.
While the synonyms seduce and inveigle are close in meaning, seduce implies a leading astray by persuasion or false promises.
The meanings of tempt and inveigle largely overlap; however, tempt implies the presenting of an attraction so strong that it overcomes the restraints of conscience or better judgment.