Allude is a word with playful roots—literally. It comes from the Latin alludere, which means "to play with," and shares the root of Latin ludere ("to play") with other English words, such as ludicrous and delude. One of the former meanings of allude was "to engage in wordplay": this sense is now long obsolete.
Although some people think that allude must always specifically entail an indirect reference, this is not the case; people have been using allude in the sense of "to refer to directly" for well over a century (as in "The Man Without a Country," the short story by Edward Everett Hale from 1863: "He never alluded so directly to his story again..."). So while allude may more commonly be used in the sense of expressing something indirectly, it is neither uncommon nor improper to use it to mean something more direct.
Allude need not always be followed by the preposition to, although that is the most common construction in modern usage.
As alluded to previously, the entire universe may actually exist in a higher-dimensional space.—Clifford A. Pickover, Surfing Through Hyperspace, 1999Adams had alluded to slavery in 1816, when he confided to Jefferson that "there will be greater difficulties to preserve our Union, than You and I, our Fathers Brothers Friends … have had to form it."—Joseph J. Ellis, American Heritage, May/June 1993The more challenging problems in fact—ones that the optimists rarely allude to—will be the problems of success.—Charles R. Morris, Atlantic, October 1989
Mrs. Simons alluded to some health problems, without being specific.
Recent Examples on the WebIn remarks shared to YouTube, Tinubu stressed the importance of setting a positive example for the next generation and alluded that Meghan visited Nigeria to reconnect with her roots.—Janine Henni, Peoplemag, 31 May 2024 As the four-hour meeting drew to a close, Lori thanked the team leaders for their work, the crowd applauded, and Lewandowski alluded, half-jokingly, to the tough decisions that lie ahead.—Jonathan M. Pitts, Baltimore Sun, 19 Feb. 2024 In last week’s budget meeting, Carvalho alluded, in general terms, to situations in which employees had lost hours and benefits.—Howard Blume, Los Angeles Times, 8 May 2024 Later, Drake alludes again to infidelity in Kendrick’s relationship with fiancée Whitney Alford.—Althea Legaspi, Rolling Stone, 5 May 2024 See all Example Sentences for allude
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'allude.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
Etymology
Latin alludere, literally, to play with, from ad- + ludere to play — more at ludicrous
Share