seduce

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verb se·duce \si-ˈdüs, -ˈdyüs\

Definition of seduce

seduced

;

seducing

transitive verb
1 : to persuade to disobedience or disloyalty
2 : to lead astray usually by persuasion or false promises
3 : to carry out the physical seduction of : entice to sexual intercourse
4 : attract

seducer

noun

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Examples of seduce in a Sentence

He tried to seduce her.
She was seduced by an older man.
The other team seduced him with a better offer.

Recent Examples of seduce from the Web

We are utterly seduced by smells of clean laundry, fresh linen, powdery detergents, and starched collars.

— liana schaffner, Allure, "The American Perfumers Modern Approach to Fragrance," 11 July 2017
Dale Leary, 50, seduced one teenage exchange student from Spain named Marta San Jose, then divorced his wife to marry her, according to police.

— david j. neal, miamiherald, "Police investigating a death at the home of a couple accused of molesting a teen," 4 July 2017
Skip the carafe As much as the price might seduce you, in most cases, wine sold in carafes and pitchers is for people who want something cheap and drinkable enough to wash down food.

— hugh garvey, CNT, "How to Order Wine Abroad," 26 June 2017
He was later transferred to Broward County to face seven charges including four counts of using a computer to seduce, solicit or lure a child.

— tonya alanez, Sun-Sentinel.com, "Man, 23, tries to lure girl, 13, to run away with him, cops say," 21 June 2017
For every 1,000 messages sent to seduce you with the riches of a Nigerian prince or posing as a co-worker asking you to log in on a shared work schedule, one will still get through.

— scott canon, kansascity, "Digital Life: An analog defense to digital sabotage," 5 June 2017
Amid a family dispute, Charles Kushner admitted to hiring a prostitute to seduce his brother-in-law, arranging to secretly record the encounter and planning to send a copy of the tape to the man’s wife, Charles Kushner’s sister.

— ajc homepage, ajc, "5 things to know about Jared Kushner, Donald Trump's son-in-law, senior adviser," 31 May 2017
This one seduces with wild-strawberry scents and flavors.

— elin mccoy, Bloomberg.com, "The Wilder Side of Rosé: New Types of Pink to Drink This Summer," 12 May 2017
When Goron succeeds and returns home a hero, the jealous king sends a with with dark magic to seduce Goron.

— Redbook, "This Family Wins Birthdays With Their Game of Thrones Photo Shoot," 10 May 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'seduce.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of seduce

Late Latin seducere, from Latin, to lead away, from se- apart + ducere to lead — more at ¹tow

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First Known Use: 15th century

See Words from the same year

Synonym Discussion of seduce

lure, entice, inveigle, decoy, tempt, seduce mean to lead astray from one's true course. lure implies a drawing into danger, evil, or difficulty through attracting and deceiving. lured naive investors with get-rich-quick schemes entice suggests drawing by artful or adroit means. advertising designed to entice new customers inveigle implies enticing by cajoling or flattering. fund-raisers inveigling wealthy alumni decoy implies a luring into entrapment by artifice. attempting to decoy the enemy into an ambush tempt implies the presenting of an attraction so strong that it overcomes the restraints of conscience or better judgment. tempted by the offer of money seduce implies a leading astray by persuasion or false promises. seduced by assurances of assistance