as in slippery
hard to find, capture, or isolate
the giant squid is one of the ocean's most elusive inhabitants
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
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
The science of tuning DPPs The researchers have come up with a clever way to tame these elusive waves.
—
Rupendra Brahambhatt, Interesting Engineering, 6 Sep. 2025
Beautiful, elusive and peppered with provocative nuggets about the nature of life and our place in it, Hungarian director Ildikó Enyedi’s Silent Friend is the Venice Film Festival’s parting gift to all those who have lasted the distance.
—Stephanie Bunbury, Deadline, 5 Sep. 2025
And yet as the majority of parents of infants will tell you, sleep remains elusive.
—Elisabeth Sherman, Parents, 4 Sep. 2025
In a new paper, two of us (Krystal and Karan) teamed up with a group of researchers, including postdoctoral researcher Anjali Yelikar, to look at ripples in space-time to spot a few of these elusive black holes merging.
—Bill Smith, JSTOR Daily, 4 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for elusive
Rupendra Brahambhatt, Interesting Engineering, 6 Sep. 2025
Beautiful, elusive and peppered with provocative nuggets about the nature of life and our place in it, Hungarian director Ildikó Enyedi’s Silent Friend is the Venice Film Festival’s parting gift to all those who have lasted the distance.
—Stephanie Bunbury, Deadline, 5 Sep. 2025
And yet as the majority of parents of infants will tell you, sleep remains elusive.
—Elisabeth Sherman, Parents, 4 Sep. 2025
In a new paper, two of us (Krystal and Karan) teamed up with a group of researchers, including postdoctoral researcher Anjali Yelikar, to look at ripples in space-time to spot a few of these elusive black holes merging.
—Bill Smith, JSTOR Daily, 4 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for elusive
Recent Examples of Synonyms for elusive
Adjective
-
The Supima cotton sheet set is made with a sateen weave, offering a light sheen like you’d get in bamboo sheets without the slippery feel.—
Nashia Baker,
Architectural Digest,
10 Sep. 2025
-
But more problematic to the scientists today is that the eels are nocturnal, good at hiding and very, very slippery.—
Wesley Bruer,
CNN Money,
8 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
In healthy people, a transient increase in the morning blood pressure is normal and generally of no concern.—
MD Published,
Verywell Health,
13 Sep. 2025
-
That promise now feels increasingly tenuous; few of the permanent employees have been hired yet, the complex is still under construction, and most of the workforce are transient staff on temporary visas or contracts – like the ones swept up by ICE.—
Jessie Yeung,
CNN Money,
12 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
Presently, if the Izaña system detects a fragment of space debris hurtling towards a satellite, the satellite then has to take evasive action, firing thrusters to push it out of the way.—
Keith Cooper,
Space.com,
15 Sep. 2025
-
Once deployed, the system rapidly determines where to search, how to configure its sensors, and how to respond when a submarine attempts evasive maneuvers such as zigzagging, going silent, or deploying decoys, the South China Morning Post reports.—
Bojan Stojkovski,
Interesting Engineering,
14 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Elusive.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/elusive. Accessed 17 Sep. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share