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Usage of Allude
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.
Synonyms
Examples of allude in a Sentence
Clifford A. Pickover, Surfing Through Hyperspace, 1999
Adams 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 1993
The 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.
Janine Henni, Peoplemag, 10 Sep. 2024
Culpo confirmed her and Berrios' breakup in March and, in June, seemingly alluded that the football player had cheated on her with Earle.
—Rebecca Aizin, Peoplemag, 8 Sep. 2024
Unsurprisingly, none of these lawsuits alludes, even in passing, to the possibility that the steep decline in revenues or advertising from major consumer firms at X might have something to do with Musk’s policies and behavior.
—Michael Hiltzik, Los Angeles Times, 12 Aug. 2024
Spider-Man isn’t the only fictional character to whom the rappers allude.
—Wesley Stenzel, EW.com, 2 July 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.
Dictionary Entries Near allude
Cite this Entry
“Allude.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/allude. Accessed 8 Oct. 2024.
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