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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While many dangerous plants are unlikely to appear in a flower garden, there are some weeds that produce beautiful flowers and tempting berries that may look right at home next to your camellias, but are downright deadly.—
Melissa Locker,
Southern Living,
10 Mar. 2026
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Around that time, the comet will be passing just to the immediate left of the sun, possibly tempting some to try and see it as a speck of light by blocking out the dazzling disk of the sun with their thumb or outstretched hand.—
Joe Rao,
Space.com,
10 Mar. 2026
Verb
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New owners Laura and Tim Schneider hope the reborn paper can aid in the community’s recovery by sharing information on the rebuilding process and luring residents and businesses back.—
Clara Harter,
Los Angeles Times,
7 Mar. 2026
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Late last month, Indiana lawmakers took another step toward potentially luring the Bears across the border after a statehouse committee approved a plan to create an agency that would build a new stadium for the team.—
Alice Yin,
Chicago Tribune,
3 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Waugh walks around with a newfound swagger, playing hooky, drinking heavily, even seducing a woman at his local.—
Dan Piepenbring,
Harpers Magazine,
24 Feb. 2026
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Ian Somerhalder’s character delights in seducing aggro closeted dudes.—
Ky Henderson,
Rolling Stone,
15 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Scotland captain Robertson rifled in a low shot from outside the penalty box 10 minutes into the second half to put Liverpool ahead and then Salah crashed home his enticing cross two minutes later.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
6 Mar. 2026
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Trump’s tariff agenda aimed to spark a blue-collar job boom by enticing companies to reshore manufacturing.—
Brian Cheung,
NBC news,
5 Mar. 2026
Verb
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In the end, Democratic voters appeared to side with Talarico’s argument that winning in Texas would require not only energizing the base but also persuading voters who have grown uncomfortable with Republican leadership.—
Nik Popli,
Time,
4 Mar. 2026
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Scams and malicious actors could be waiting on the other end, with the intent of covertly persuading the call’s recipient to get involved in some kind of scheme.—
Daniel Fusch,
USA Today,
26 Feb. 2026
Verb
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The replies are mostly AI bots, or rage-baiting stan accounts.—
Larisha Paul,
Rolling Stone,
15 Feb. 2026
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Never mind foul-baiting and load management, the hottest topics circling the NBA in 2026 are tanking and the opposite – trying too hard to win, allegedly, in the Clippers’ case.—
Mirjam Swanson,
Oc Register,
15 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Decoying.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/decoying. Accessed 12 Mar. 2026.
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