decoying

verb

present participle of decoy
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

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of decoying Pigeon hunting in Argentina offers the opportunity for decoying birds and was the most fun of the species to hunt there, in my opinion. — Alex Robinson, Outdoor Life, 12 Aug. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for decoying
  1. tempting
  2. luring
  3. seducing
  4. enticing
  5. persuading
  6. baiting
Verb
  • Their highest-profile signing has come on the women’s side, tempting Polish great Kasia Niewiadoma-Phinney, second at both the Tour de France and World Championships this season, to join from Canyon-SRAM.
    — Jacob Whitehead, New York Times, 13 Oct. 2026
  • The snacks spill from every aisle, tempting you with Ghost Pepper Potato Chips and two-bite cookies in plastic drums while you’re supposed to be finding the frozen broccoli.
    — Alex Beggs, Bon Appetit Magazine, 22 Sep. 2026
Definition of tempting
Verb
  • That is how the awe of AI is luring our attention away from the slow and steady assault by America’s race demons.
    — Kamau Bobb October 21, Literary Hub, 21 Oct. 2026
  • The Hoosiers paid handsomely for their big pickup via the transfer portal, luring him from Michigan State.
    — Dana O’Neil, CNN Money, 17 Oct. 2026
Definition of luring
Verb
  • Adva Lavie, an OnlyFans model, already is facing criminal charges in Los Angeles County for allegedly seducing and stealing from rich men.
    — Richard Winton, Los Angeles Times, 17 Sep. 2026
  • Still, with more than 40,000 industry jobs lost in the past few years, soundstages and vendor storefronts sitting empty, and lucrative overseas incentives seducing even more production away, things are bleak in town right now.
    — Dominic Patten, Deadline, 6 Aug. 2026
Definition of seducing
Verb
  • Over a decade before Weapons’s Aunt Gladys (Amazon Prime and HBO Max) was luring kids to the basement, Sinister’s monster was enticing them to do far worse.
    — Eve Batey, Vanity Fair, 16 Oct. 2026
  • Some blame the content for not being enticing enough, while others contend that the programs could be promoted better on Netflix.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 15 Oct. 2026
Definition of enticing
Verb
  • Janabi said one of the biggest challenges has been persuading those who are infected to seek medical assistance, adding that some deaths occur in the community outside of health centers.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 19 Oct. 2026
  • Both require making the right choices under pressure and persuading others to believe in them.
    — Katherine Brodsky, Variety, 14 Oct. 2026
Definition of persuading
Verb
  • In Pakistan, Choudhary told me, the workforce of the author-baiting scams is largely made up of high-school and university graduates.
    — Snigdha Poonam, The Dial, 13 Oct. 2026
  • But someone needs to jar Bell's memory and adjust his grasp of facts to get him off this race-baiting narrative.
    — Armando Salguero OutKick, FOXNews.com, 1 Oct. 2026
Definition of baiting

Browse Nearby Words

decoyed
decoying
decoys
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Cite this Entry

“Decoying.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/decoying. Accessed 26 Oct. 2026.

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