beguiling

adjective

be·​guil·​ing bi-ˈgī-liŋ 

bē-

: agreeably or charmingly attractive or pleasing

a beguiling manner

a beguiling aroma

… it's safe to say that the Balkans have never produced a politician so beguiling.

—Jane Kramer

beguilingly adverb

The restaurant is physically attractive, dishes are beguilingly presented, and the cuisine is always logically inventive, often inspired, sometimes sublime.

—Jay Jacobs

Synonyms of beguiling

• cunning
• cute
• slick
• subtle
• deceptive

Examples of beguiling in a Sentence

a smart and beguiling child who can manipulate her parents with alarming ease

the beguiling allure of a life of crime

Recent Examples on the Web

There’s something so beguiling about the obvious irony of the title, the perplexing insistence of the narrator, and the comic persistence of the ghost. — Casey Cep, New Yorker, 7 July 2026

The dummy for a team-mate to score is one of football’s most enjoyable and beguiling acts. — Stuart James, New York Times, 23 June 2026

His latest, Rose of Nevada — which stars two name actors, Callum Turner and George MacKay, and opens in New York today after doing the festival rounds — has the beguiling simplicity of a fable and the captivating textures of a dream. — Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 19 June 2026

The beguiling combination of strategy and luck. — Ashley Parker, The Atlantic, 15 June 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1646, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for beguiling

• compiling
• profiling
• refiling
• reviling
• stockpiling
• unsmiling
• filing
• piling
• smiling
• styling
• tiling
• reconciling