as in tempted
to lead away from a usual or proper course by offering some pleasure or advantage
tacky souvenir shops to which first-time tourists had been decoyed into spending their hard-earned money
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Recent Examples of decoyed
Dowdle busted loose for a first down with 40 seconds to play after Young decoyed putting him in pass protection, and those 19 yards put the Panthers in position to kick a field goal after they’d won the coin flip and maneuvered to get the wind at the end.
—
Luke Decock, Charlotte Observer, 2 Nov. 2025
Luke Decock, Charlotte Observer, 2 Nov. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for decoyed
Verb
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Europeans can be tempted to believe that increasing defense budgets will be enough to defend Europe in the absence of the United States.—
Ivan Krastev,
Time,
21 Jan. 2026
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Whatever you’re tempted to look at?—
Scott Fowler,
Charlotte Observer,
20 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Heaps also indicated that she was lured to the Summit by majority owner Rob Cohen and coach Nick Cushing, who previously coached the Manchester City women and Major League Soccer's NYCFC.—
Romi Bean,
CBS News,
13 Jan. 2026
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By Michael Sasso | Bloomberg Sales of new homes in the US were little changed in October but remain near the strongest pace since 2023 as builders lured anxious customers with price cuts and incentives.—
Bloomberg,
Oc Register,
13 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Released in 1994, Sátántangó (based on László Krasznahorka’s novel) chronicled an impoverished Hungarian village that becomes seduced by a would-be prophet who has seemingly come back from the dead.—
Tim Grierson,
Rolling Stone,
6 Jan. 2026
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This year, we were seduced by silver trays and a new take on the TV-dinner table.—
Kate McGregor,
Architectural Digest,
26 Dec. 2025
Verb
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But the demonstrations are diffuse and largely leaderless, and Pezeshkian’s efforts at mediation — and the killings and arrests by security forces — have not persuaded the protesters to stay off the streets.—
Henry Austin,
NBC news,
7 Jan. 2026
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The paintings worked because viewers did not need to be persuaded that these scenes mattered.—
Philip Martin,
Washington Post,
7 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Would any of these players be enticed to negotiate to avoid ending like the Venezuelan strongman?—
Nora Gámez Torres,
Miami Herald,
21 Jan. 2026
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According to federal prosecutors, a group of bettors enticed players with payments of anywhere from $10,000 to $30,000 for their willingness to help the syndicate win bets on first-half and full-game spreads.—
Lindsay Schnell,
New York Times,
16 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Decoyed.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/decoyed. Accessed 24 Jan. 2026.
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