allure
/əˈljʊə
/ /əˈljɔː/noun [mass noun]
The quality of being powerfully and mysteriously attractive or fascinating: people for whom gold holds no allure...
- Instead, the shadows crept over her, giving her a rather mysterious allure and then soon took off.
- Despite its romantic allure, gold has historically been a pretty lousy investment.
- Part of the continuing allure of police action films is the chance to get under the skin of a criminal, to glimpse into an alien world.
Synonyms
attraction, lure, draw, pull, appeal, glamour, allurement, enticement, temptation, bewitchment, enchantment, charm, seduction, persuasion, fascination, magnetism
verb [with object]
Powerfully attract or charm; tempt: will sponsors really be allured by such opportunities?...
- The once pretty and alluring attraction of Little Marlow had been lost.
- Becky, working as a governess, resorts to her good looks and alluring personality to move up in society.
- This British duo continues to rock with alluring sensitivity and a plenitude of pop sensibility.
Synonyms
attract, lure, entice, tempt, appeal to, whet the appetite of, make someone's mouth water, captivate, draw, beguile, bewitch, enchant, win over, charm, seduce, persuade, lead on, tantalize;
intrigue, fascinate
informal give the come-on to
enticing, tempting, attractive, appealing, fetching, inviting, glamorous, captivating, seductive;
enchanting, beguiling, charming, fascinating, intriguing, tantalizing, magnetic;
irresistible
US informal on fleek
informal, dated come-hither
Derivatives
allurement
/ noun ...- It was held that the attractive-looking berries constituted an allurement to children for which the defendants were liable.
- I was walking with some girlfriends one sunny day and the conversation drifted around to what one thing we would wish for to make us feel better about our physical allurements.
- The law prohibits conversion from one religion to another by ‘the use of force or allurement or by fraudulent means’.
Origin
Late Middle English (in the sense 'tempt, entice'): from Old French aleurier 'attract', from a- (from Latin ad 'to') + luere 'a lure' (originally a falconry term).