as in tempting
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 decoying
What these guys really care about is decoying ducks in and seeing the show.
—
Alex Robinson, Outdoor Life, 9 Oct. 2025
Alex Robinson, Outdoor Life, 9 Oct. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for decoying
Verb
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Rising from the Mediterranean, this little isle, full of dramatic peaks and grottoes, has been tempting travelers for 2,000 years.—
Laura Itzkowitz,
Travel + Leisure,
30 May 2026
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This pick comes right around where the last top centers and D are available, and Gustafsson and Tynan Lawrence are certainly tempting at premium positions.—
Corey Pronman,
New York Times,
27 May 2026
Verb
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Five suspects face charges after allegedly luring two teens to an Arlington park Wednesday night in order to attack them, police said.—
Harriet Ramos,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
30 May 2026
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Frobisher responded by kidnapping an Inuk man by luring him to the boat with a bell.—
Encyclopedia Britannica,
Encyclopedia Britannica,
28 May 2026
Verb
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That means seducing Paris Carver, Elliot's wife and Bond's ex, portrayed by Teri Hatcher.—
John Russell,
PEOPLE,
19 May 2026
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Nate plays his older neighbors like a fiddle, seducing them with his beauty, money, and youth.—
Rafaela Bassili,
Vulture,
20 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Tranquill then became the recruiter during the 2026 offseason, enticing safety Alohi Gilman to join him in Kansas City.—
Jeff Fedotin,
Forbes.com,
1 June 2026
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Tucker faces charges of enticing a minor by computer and criminal attempt to commit risk of injury to a minor in connection with an investigation conducted by the Bloomfield Police Department.—
Justin Muszynski,
Hartford Courant,
28 May 2026
Verb
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Those include persuading a critical number of merchants to accept payments from agents, while also determining who is responsible for failed and fraudulent transactions.—
Jeff John Roberts,
Fortune,
27 May 2026
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Candidate Brenda Lee Anderson, a Northwestern University researcher, noted that a key challenge has been persuading those without children in Chicago Public Schools that the school board is worth their attention.—
Kate Armanini,
Chicago Tribune,
26 May 2026
Verb
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But this kind of consistency isn’t an accident or a matter of foul baiting.—
Shakeia Taylor,
New York Times,
29 May 2026
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Diners aren’t baiting first-bite TikTok reaction shots.—
Bill Addison,
Los Angeles Times,
23 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Decoying.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/decoying. Accessed 6 Jun. 2026.
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