LEADING ON Synonyms: 39 Similar and Opposite Words

leading on

verb

present participle of lead on

as in tempting

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

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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 leading on Batula had witnessed Wilson leading on Miller and spoke ill of their connection in the media. — Jami Ganz, New York Daily News, 5 Aug. 2026 Rowan Woods, the former creative chief at the Edinburgh TV Festival, has been leading on this work for months as an independent consultant. — Max Goldbart, Deadline, 28 July 2026 Designers should be leading on what consumers actually need, said Munster, the investor. — Sebastian Herrera, Fortune, 25 July 2026 By passing Section 106, the Commonwealth can show that leading on AI innovation and leading on responsible oversight are one and the same. — Jesse Rothman, Boston Herald, 17 July 2026 By 101 measures, Los Angeles is one of the great cities of the world and California has built the world’s fourth-largest economy while leading on climate change, so apocalyptic diagnoses are a bit off the mark. — Steve Lopez columnist follow, Los Angeles Times, 30 May 2026 Maryland is leading on this issue. — Baltimore Sun Staff, Baltimore Sun, 11 Feb. 2026 And, a year ago, Republicans were the ones leading on the congressional ballot, showing just how much the landscape has shifted in Democrats' favor. — Domenico Montanaro, NPR, 9 Feb. 2026 Being Different means standing apart - leading on innovation and setting trends. — Steven Wolfe Pereira, Forbes.com, 27 Jan. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for leading on

Verb

Others tried to widen their gaze to make sure their eyes would be open as the camera clicked, though the afternoon sun was tempting us to squint.

— Danny Heitman, Christian Science Monitor, 31 July 2026
Be honest about what’s irritating or tempting you, because something’s got to give!

— Valerie Mesa, PEOPLE, 29 July 2026

Definition of tempting

Verb

Bay Head Mayor Bill Curtis told ABC News that some fishermen have used drones to drop bait in the water, and that bait could theoretically float closer to shore in bathing areas, luring in sharks and putting recreational swimmers at risk.

— Mason Leib, ABC News, 10 Aug. 2026
When Vermeil soon thereafter retired again, Stiles rejoined the Chiefs … and became instrumental in luring Vermeil to Kansas City.

— Kansas City Star, Kansas City Star, 4 Aug. 2026

Definition of luring

Verb

Still, with more than 40,000 industry jobs lost in the past few years, soundstages and vendor storefronts sitting empty, and lucrative overseas incentives seducing even more production away, things are bleak in town right now.

— Dominic Patten, Deadline, 6 Aug. 2026
The young women acted as underground assassins, seducing Nazi officers, luring them into the woods and killing them.

— Emily Zemler, Rolling Stone, 28 July 2026

Definition of seducing

Verb

Barron’s reported in mid-July that Keim tied himself to Mohamed Coulibaly, who allegedly authored a scam to cheat NFL players out of hundreds of thousands of dollars by persuading them to invest in fake Shopify stores.

— Armando Salguero OutKick, FOXNews.com, 10 Aug. 2026
Explaining what the information means—and persuading people to act on it—becomes more valuable.

— Bryan Robinson, Forbes.com, 10 Aug. 2026