as in slippery
hard to find, capture, or isolate
the giant squid is one of the ocean's most elusive inhabitants
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of elusive
While the jackpot remained elusive, nine tickets matched all five white balls to win $1 million each, with four winners in California and one each in Connecticut, Florida, Illinois, Massachusetts and Pennsylvania.
—
Doc Louallen, ABC News, 1 Sep. 2025
Until now, achieving elasticity alongside high electrical output in n-type systems had remained elusive.
—Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 1 Sep. 2025
For instance, Pisces is a dreamy, elusive Water sign that knows no bounds.
—Valerie Mesa, People.com, 1 Sep. 2025
Each of the winners from the latest draw has won $1,165,399, while the elusive $1 billion jackpot has yet to be drawn.
—Chase Hunter, Mercury News, 31 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for elusive
Doc Louallen, ABC News, 1 Sep. 2025
Until now, achieving elasticity alongside high electrical output in n-type systems had remained elusive.
—Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 1 Sep. 2025
For instance, Pisces is a dreamy, elusive Water sign that knows no bounds.
—Valerie Mesa, People.com, 1 Sep. 2025
Each of the winners from the latest draw has won $1,165,399, while the elusive $1 billion jackpot has yet to be drawn.
—Chase Hunter, Mercury News, 31 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for elusive
Recent Examples of Synonyms for elusive
Adjective
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What was surprising was how slippery the ball gets after a couple of throws, due to the moisture on the field.—
James Wallace,
New York Times,
5 Sep. 2025
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The slippery tradition dates back to the Ottoman Empire.—
Daniel Wine,
CNN Money,
3 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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Few of the permanent employees expected to fill 8,500 slots have been hired, and the bulk of the current workforce is transient – single men on temporary visas or contracts, rotating through for months at a time.—
Dalia Faheid,
CNN Money,
8 Sep. 2025
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No notice, just like when the city added several dollars in transient occupancy taxes to every guest bill with virtually no notice on May 1.—
Phillip Molnar,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
5 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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Trumpian doublespeak is always evasive, even when accurate.—
Chris Brennan,
USA Today,
29 Aug. 2025
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All of this resulted in Car 63 having to brake heavily and take evasive action.—
Nelson Espinal,
MSNBC Newsweek,
29 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Elusive.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/elusive. Accessed 10 Sep. 2025.
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