elusive

elu·sive

adj \ē-ˈlü-siv, -ˈlü-ziv\

Definition of ELUSIVE

: tending to elude: as a : tending to evade grasp or pursuit <elusive prey> b : hard to comprehend or define c : hard to isolate or identify

— elu·sive·ly adverb

— elu·sive·ness noun

Examples of ELUSIVE

1. The truth may prove elusive.
2. <the giant squid is one of the ocean's most elusive inhabitants>
3. But for all their influence, D.C. lobbyists have failed to attain one elusive goal: public respect. —Franklin Foer, New Republic, 25 Mar. 2002
4. In truth, the ideal of wholly disinterested scholarship—in any field of research—will probably remain an elusive one. —Henry Louis Gates, Jr., New York Times, 4 Apr. 1998
5. His meanings have been known to be elusive, which is why he appeals to pop cryptographers. —Sarah Vowell, GQ, November 1998
6. This boson is so central to the state of physics today, so crucial to our final understanding of the structure of matter, yet so elusive, that I have given it a nickname: the God Particle. —Leon Lederman et al., The God Particle, 1993

Origin of ELUSIVE

(see elusion)

First Known Use: 1719

Related to ELUSIVE

Synonyms: evasive, fugitive, slippery

Related Words: cagey (also cagy), shifty; ephemeral, evanescent, fleeting, impermanent, momentary, passing, short-lived, temporary, transient, transitory; inaccessible, inconvenient, unapproachable, unattainable, unavailable, unobtainable, unreachable, untouchable

Near Antonyms: accessible, approachable, attainable, available, convenient, obtainable, reachable

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Rhymes with ELUSIVE

allusive, collusive, conclusive, conducive, delusive, diffusive, effusive, exclusive, extrusive, illusive, inclusive, intrusive, obtrusive, preclusive, prelusive, protrusive, reclusive, suffusive