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
The Doak Walker Award-winner and Heisman Trophy finalist is explosive, elusive, powerful and versatile.
—
Eddie Brown, San Diego Union-Tribune, 7 Jan. 2026
The report produced by commercial real estate firm Savills determined that while significant improvements have materialized for the sector, a full recovery for the region remains elusive.
—George Avalos, Mercury News, 6 Jan. 2026
Although Tuesday’s agreement represents the clearest picture yet of how Ukraine’s allies intend to guarantee its security in the event of a peace deal, that deal itself remains elusive.
—Melissa Bell, CNN Money, 6 Jan. 2026
Ross seals, the smallest and rarest members of the Antarctic true seal family, are incredibly elusive.
—Rachel Raposas, PEOPLE, 6 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for elusive
Eddie Brown, San Diego Union-Tribune, 7 Jan. 2026
The report produced by commercial real estate firm Savills determined that while significant improvements have materialized for the sector, a full recovery for the region remains elusive.
—George Avalos, Mercury News, 6 Jan. 2026
Although Tuesday’s agreement represents the clearest picture yet of how Ukraine’s allies intend to guarantee its security in the event of a peace deal, that deal itself remains elusive.
—Melissa Bell, CNN Money, 6 Jan. 2026
Ross seals, the smallest and rarest members of the Antarctic true seal family, are incredibly elusive.
—Rachel Raposas, PEOPLE, 6 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for elusive
Recent Examples of Synonyms for elusive
Adjective
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All the better to emphasize Lawrence creating the sensation that someone’s grip on reality getting mighty slippery.—
David Fear,
Rolling Stone,
6 Nov. 2025
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To remind residents of winter driving hazards, the Michigan State Police posted a video on X demonstrating how to recover from skidding on a slippery road.—
Sarah Moore,
Freep.com,
5 Nov. 2025
Adjective
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Perez, a 63-year-old transient man, was convicted of the child murders from 1992 through 2001 throughout Central and Northern California, the Yolo County District Attorney’s Office announced in a news release.—
Rosalio Ahumada,
Sacbee.com,
7 Jan. 2026
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The exact reason why the rearview camera image won't display is unknown, but transient signal noise between the control unit and cameras can interrupt the signal, states the NHTSA report.—
Greta Cross,
USA Today,
31 Dec. 2025
Adjective
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Cabello’s strength lies not only in his evasive tactics but in his street-level network.—
Antonio María Delgado,
Miami Herald,
6 Jan. 2026
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Cole’s attorneys argued that the government has not presented any evidence that suggests evasive conduct or resistance to law enforcement.—
Gary Grumbach,
NBC news,
2 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Elusive.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/elusive. Accessed 9 Jan. 2026.
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