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elusive

adjective

ē-ˈlü-siv How to pronounce elusive (audio)
Definition of elusivenext
as in slippery
hard to find, capture, or isolate the giant squid is one of the ocean's most elusive inhabitants

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 elusive On Tuesday, Miley Cyrus released an elusive trailer for her forthcoming 10th album, Bass Persuades. — Charisma Madarang, Rolling Stone, 3 Sep. 2026 As in so much of his work, their very existence reveals an elusive truth about the universe. — Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 3 Sep. 2026 Next April, New York will get one last glimpse into the elusive mind of Yayoi Kusama. — Tessa Solomon, ARTnews.com, 2 Sep. 2026 At that point, the race would have to cease—or at least to shift away from WIMPs to instead seek some other elusive quarry. — Joseph Howlett, Scientific American, 1 Sep. 2026 See All Example Sentences for elusive
Recent Examples of Synonyms for elusive
  1. slippery
  2. transient
  3. evasive
Adjective
  • The film itself is just as slippery and multi-layered, down to Lee’s heady admixture of documentary and dramatic aesthetics.
    — Matt Brennan, Los Angeles Times, 6 Sep. 2026
  • Beyond that simple baseline, the matrix of desire at work in Lee and Oh Jung-mi’s remarkably nuanced script is too slippery to pin down until the movie’s velvet gutpunch of a final scene.
    — David Ehrlich, IndieWire, 6 Sep. 2026
Definition of slippery
Adjective
  • According to the company, its grid-forming control strategy can maintain stable operation across an SCR range of 1 to 40, while also helping mitigate transient overvoltage.
    — Georgina Jedikovska, Interesting Engineering, 17 Sep. 2026
  • The goal Dowman scored against Everton last season, to clinch a 2-0 victory in the closing minutes, would have been special had it been scored by some transient loanee who had come and gone within weeks.
    — Nick Miller, New York Times, 16 Sep. 2026
Definition of transient
Adjective
  • If responsibilization in one sense means accepting forms of self-monitoring and self-deprivation, taking responsibility in carbon accounting can also be an evasive maneuver.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 3 Sep. 2026
  • Rogers was allegedly evasive when asked how his truck had gone off the road and down an embankment and started to walk away from the trooper toward a nearby picnic table with a crossbow and several arrows on it, state police said.
    — Justin Muszynski, Hartford Courant, 25 Aug. 2026
Definition of evasive

Browse Nearby Words

elusion
elusive
elutriate
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Elusive.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/elusive. Accessed 18 Sep. 2026.

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