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

• cunning
• cute
• subtle
• deceptive
• slick

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

Those long, beguiling strands have a fiery red pepper bite followed by a sweet surge of hardware smoke that lingers on the tongue. —Robert F. Moss, Southern Living, 17 Sep. 2025

The planet’s extreme inhospitality is at the heart of one of the most beguiling mysteries in planetary science. —Quanta Magazine, 15 Sep. 2025

It's also blessed with one of Nicks' most beguiling vocal tracks in years. —Ed Masley, AZCentral.com, 11 Sep. 2025

There’s a debut book of poetry by Ricky Delaurentiis, (coming recommended by Ocean Vuong), a novel satirizing masculinity and higher education by Jordan Castro, and a second beguiling novel by Makenna Goodman, author of The Shame. —Julia Hass, Literary Hub, 9 Sep. 2025

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