as in to tempt
to lead away from a usual or proper course by offering some pleasure or advantage
a con man whose dupes are usually led on by their own greed and eagerness to turn an easy buck
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for lead on
Verb
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Overbuy with the price still affordable At just under $80 an ounce currently, but with the potential for significant growth high right now, investors may be tempted to overbuy silver while the price is still affordable.—
Matt Richardson,
CBS News,
8 Jan. 2026 -
This is where brands can tempt consumers with limited runs.—
Angela Velasquez,
Sourcing Journal,
7 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Miami is rumored to be interested in his services, and the Hurricanes are no strangers to shelling out lucrative deals to lure top passers.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
24 Jan. 2026
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Even the name Greenland taps into antiquity thanks to Erik the Red, who was banished here in 982, found a sheltered, green fjord to call home, and named the place Greenland, an embellishment to lure other Norsemen west.—
Tim Neville,
Outside,
23 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Consani grew up in the Bay Area and can pinpoint the exact moment the world of high fashion seduced her.—
Derek C. Blasberg,
Vanity Fair,
19 Jan. 2026
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Stroheim himself plays the villain, one Lieutenant Eric von Steuben, who meets a vacationing American woman at an Alpine resort and tries to seduce her under the nose of her neglectful husband.—
Richard Brody,
New Yorker,
17 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Is the rewriting of history or attacks on universities—are these part of an attempt to persuade Americans to think differently about elections?—
Anne Applebaum,
The Atlantic,
23 Jan. 2026
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The Spirit attempted to negotiate a lucrative contract extension and persuade her not to leave for Europe.—
CNN Money,
CNN Money,
23 Jan. 2026
Verb
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An Associated Press investigation found that unwitting Bangladeshi workers were enticed to Russia under the false promise of civilian work before being thrown into combat in Ukraine.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
28 Jan. 2026
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By promoting the procedure as not just a facelift add-on, but an alternative to lip filler, surgeons broadened its appeal, enticing younger generations who were growing tired of injections—the artificial aesthetic, the migration, the maintenance.—
Jolene Edgar,
Allure,
27 Jan. 2026
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Cite this Entry
“Lead on.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/lead%20on. Accessed 29 Jan. 2026.
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