as in duped
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1
as in fascinated
to attract or delight as if by magic
the magician effortlessly beguiled and amazed the children
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in deceived
to cause to believe what is untrue
beguiled her into believing that yet another worthless item would enhance her life
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in tempted
to lead away from a usual or proper course by offering some pleasure or advantage
was beguiled by the promise of easy money as a drug dealer
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Recent Examples of beguiled
Sean Williams, Harpers Magazine, 27 Jan. 2026
Now based in New York City, his first Texas solo museum show, staged at The Contemporary, revealed not only magnificently smooth objects seemingly beguiled from wood, with enough thorny surfaces to remind the viewer of the complicated life of the immigrant today.
—Austin American Statesman, 12 Jan. 2026
Even the uninitiated will be beguiled, though, by the director’s meditative style, his skillful portrait of industrial upheaval and decay, and the sense of wistfulness driving Tao’s lovely performance.
—David Sims, The Atlantic, 9 Dec. 2025
Monroe has to slowly tilt from being beguiled and intrigued by Stevens to totally terrified by him, and her ability to pull it off while explosions and gun battles are going on around her sells the film’s tonal shifts perfectly.
—Matthew Jackson, Vulture, 22 Oct. 2025
Blessed with a certain photogenic look that’s beguiled moviegoing audiences since the 1930s and cursed with having the conversation start and stop there, Sweeney has become one of the few sure bets for stardom among the current A-listers-under-30 set, as well as a brand unto herself.
—David Fear, Rolling Stone, 6 Sep. 2025
Chris Roemer, Baltimore Sun, 22 Jan. 2026
OpenAI took a step on one of these items Tuesday, announcing a model that predicts whether a user is a minor based on their behavior and usage patterns — a challenge that has beguiled the tech industry for decades.
—Rachyl Jones, semafor.com, 21 Jan. 2026
In the five years just before war set in, these were among the dwellings that had beguiled Heinz Gaube (1940–2022), a German academic at the Oriental Seminar of the Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen.
—JSTOR Daily, 25 Oct. 2025
Adjective
Today, the urgent challenge before the royal family and many other institutions protected by mystique is whether the often degenerate select few in charge can still persuade the mass of people to remain beguiled and accept authority.
—Sean Williams, Harpers Magazine, 27 Jan. 2026
Now based in New York City, his first Texas solo museum show, staged at The Contemporary, revealed not only magnificently smooth objects seemingly beguiled from wood, with enough thorny surfaces to remind the viewer of the complicated life of the immigrant today.
—Austin American Statesman, 12 Jan. 2026
Even the uninitiated will be beguiled, though, by the director’s meditative style, his skillful portrait of industrial upheaval and decay, and the sense of wistfulness driving Tao’s lovely performance.
—David Sims, The Atlantic, 9 Dec. 2025
Monroe has to slowly tilt from being beguiled and intrigued by Stevens to totally terrified by him, and her ability to pull it off while explosions and gun battles are going on around her sells the film’s tonal shifts perfectly.
—Matthew Jackson, Vulture, 22 Oct. 2025
Blessed with a certain photogenic look that’s beguiled moviegoing audiences since the 1930s and cursed with having the conversation start and stop there, Sweeney has become one of the few sure bets for stardom among the current A-listers-under-30 set, as well as a brand unto herself.
—David Fear, Rolling Stone, 6 Sep. 2025
Verb
Renee Nicole Good was a pawn of leftist politicians and activists who beguiled her into believing that ICE officers are the bad guys and that there is virtue in attacking them, breaking the law and resisting arrest.
—Chris Roemer, Baltimore Sun, 22 Jan. 2026
OpenAI took a step on one of these items Tuesday, announcing a model that predicts whether a user is a minor based on their behavior and usage patterns — a challenge that has beguiled the tech industry for decades.
—Rachyl Jones, semafor.com, 21 Jan. 2026
In the five years just before war set in, these were among the dwellings that had beguiled Heinz Gaube (1940–2022), a German academic at the Oriental Seminar of the Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen.
—JSTOR Daily, 25 Oct. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for beguiled
Verb
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In his youth, Mendonça was fascinated by the city’s grand cinema palaces.—
Stephania Taladrid,
New Yorker,
1 Feb. 2026
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The avant-garde, too, was fascinated by the idea of provoking psychological responses in spectators through art.—
Michael Cowan,
Artforum,
1 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Challengers should give Marylanders the option to choose a new direction and remove the need to confront the painful reality that they were deceived.—
Torrey Snow,
Baltimore Sun,
14 Jan. 2026
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Trump told people that Rupert deceived him.—
Gabriel Sherman,
Vanity Fair,
14 Jan. 2026
Verb
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So its understandable that you might be tempted to let mom handle your daughters' education and support during menstruation.—
Christian Dashiell,
Parents,
28 Jan. 2026
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Would he be tempted to go in that direction and also get shiny objects?—
Georg Szalai,
HollywoodReporter,
27 Jan. 2026
Adjective
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The government’s offers of dialogue with the protesters ring hollow as it is meant as a pressure valve internationally—for credulous Westerners who believe Iran’s political system is capable of reform—and domestically.—
Washington Post,
Washington Post,
5 Jan. 2026
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On Ukraine, the new strategy does little more than make assertions, many of them too sanguine about what the country needs to survive and too credulous about Russia’s potential to serve as a constructive regional actor.—
MICHAEL KIMMAGE,
Foreign Affairs,
8 Dec. 2025
Verb
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An Associated Press investigation found that unwitting Bangladeshi workers were enticed to Russia under the false promise of civilian work before being thrown into combat in Ukraine.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
28 Jan. 2026
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An Associated Press investigation found that unwitting Bangladeshi workers were enticed to Russia under the false promise of civilian work before being thrown into combat in Ukraine.—
Kamila Hrabchuk,
Los Angeles Times,
27 Jan. 2026
Verb
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That's where people get tricked.—
Kurt Knutsson,
FOXNews.com,
16 Jan. 2026
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Accountancy has seen several cheating scandals in recent years, with the Big Four firms hit with multimillion-dollar fines after staff tricked internal exams, but the sector is far from alone.—
Tom Chivers,
semafor.com,
29 Dec. 2025
Verb
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Since the dawn of time, the romance of railways has seduced poets, spellbound novelists, and dealt directors the perfect hand for capturing fleeting friendships, illicit affairs, and all manner of crimes and capers.—
Arati Menon,
Condé Nast Traveler,
28 Jan. 2026
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Then, the spectacle in Paris seduced the world once more as only the Olympic Games and the City of Light could, as events unfolded beneath an Eiffel Tower that went twinkle-twinkle every night.—
Matthew Futterman,
New York Times,
21 Jan. 2026
Adjective
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The result is that the current generation of LLMs is far more gullible than people.—
Bruce Schneier,
IEEE Spectrum,
21 Jan. 2026
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Norris’s archetypically American tale gave Stroheim an opportunity to build on his earlier depictions of Americans abroad as gullible and oblivious.—
Richard Brody,
New Yorker,
17 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Beguiled.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/beguiled. Accessed 3 Feb. 2026.
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