illusive

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 illusive There is nothing wrong with wanting to be in communication or to lurk on their pages — especially when Venus retrograde links up with illusive Neptune on March 27th. Lisa Stardust, refinery29.com, 27 Feb. 2025 The month wraps up with a very special cosmic event, as illusive and intuitive Neptune will leave your sign for the first time in nearly 15 years, ingressing into fiery Aries. Nina Kahn, StyleCaster, 24 Feb. 2025 The ever-illusive Banksy, whose real identity remains a mystery, was not always so secretive, reveals the BBC. The Editors Of Artnews, ARTnews.com, 16 Jan. 2025 Howl, an illusive magic-user, takes over the cooking from Sophie, placing bacon in the pan and feeding egg shells to Calcifer, who happily munches away on the detritus. Eliana Dockterman, TIME, 21 Dec. 2024 See All Example Sentences for illusive
Recent Examples of Synonyms for illusive
Adjective
  • Yet these successes were at best partial, and perhaps illusory.
    JENNIFER KAVANAGH, Foreign Affairs, 30 Sep. 2025
  • Everyone has their own analogy to describe Labour’s illusory power.
    Sam Knight, New Yorker, 21 Sep. 2025
Adjective
  • While their mother is not in the picture, Judy seeks guidance from her boss, Alyson (Megan Mullally), and her imaginary friend, Alanis Morissette (voicing herself), who appears to her in the Northern Lights.
    Nellie Andreeva, Deadline, 3 Oct. 2025
  • The opportunities for newcomers to be in larger meetings may have been more imaginary than real.
    Diane Brady, Fortune, 2 Oct. 2025
Adjective
  • This isn’t callousness or delusive optimism but, rather, a rebellion against the suffocating expectation that the elderly have foreclosed the possibility of joy.
    Hillary Kelly, The New Yorker, 21 Feb. 2024
  • To separate art from its historical framework is futile, and to reject it in an effort to censor past violence is a delusive act of virtue signaling.
    WSJ, WSJ, 5 July 2022
Adjective
  • Specifically, the four customers argued that Hershey's violated Florida Deceptive And Unfair Trade Practices Act, which is designed to protect Floridians from unfair competition, deceptive acts and unethical practices.
    Greta Cross, USA Today, 26 Sep. 2025
  • In recent years, users have increasingly been taking to court to challenge allegedly deceptive practices by Amazon.
    Winston Cho, HollywoodReporter, 25 Sep. 2025
Adjective
  • The Seahawks put the Bucs in obvious situations, then offered little resistance.
    Michael-Shawn Dugar, New York Times, 7 Oct. 2025
  • One obvious strategy to try to tackle the staffing problems is to close more prisons, and this year’s state budget authorized Governor Hochul to close up to three more.
    Jennifer Gonnerman, New Yorker, 6 Oct. 2025
Adjective
  • In that vacuum, religious zealots and cults manifest, nihilism thrives, and families are torn apart.
    Randall Colburn, Entertainment Weekly, 23 Sep. 2025
  • This is made manifest through four sections (two comprising the majority of the book).
    Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 4 Sep. 2025
Adjective
  • Despite these accounts, Day offered a very different picture in an opinion piece published by The Oregonian on Sunday, arguing that national media coverage of Portland and its police paint a misleading and outdated picture.
    Greg Wehner, FOXNews.com, 6 Oct. 2025
  • The apparent protective effect of dopamine agonist drugs could also be misleading.
    Maria Morava, MSNBC Newsweek, 6 Oct. 2025
Adjective
  • That is delusory of course, but it can be fashioned into a victory claim that might well be readily embraced by war-weary and war-wary Russians in the public and among the elite.
    John Mueller, Foreign Affairs, 29 Nov. 2022

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Cite this Entry

“Illusive.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/illusive. Accessed 8 Oct. 2025.

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