as in tempts
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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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of leads on
Instead of the battlefield, the defenseman and Woodstock native leads on the ice as a fifth-year veteran for his team.
—
Kaley Fedko, CBS News, 9 Jan. 2026
The New York Yankees blew two leads on in Game 2 on Wednesday night before Austin Wells delivered a go-ahead RBI single with two outs in the eighth inning to lift the Bronx Bombers to a 4-3 victory and a decisive Game 3 on Thursday night.
—Ben Verbrugge, MSNBC Newsweek, 2 Oct. 2025
Assistant coach Eddie Riemer, Farke admits, leads on this discipline, but as part of a wider team effort.
—Beren Cross, New York Times, 2 Oct. 2025
In the popular television series Teen Wolf, Cho was one of the only Asian American leads on a teen drama during that time period.
—Laura Sirikul, Forbes.com, 28 Aug. 2025
Kaley Fedko, CBS News, 9 Jan. 2026
The New York Yankees blew two leads on in Game 2 on Wednesday night before Austin Wells delivered a go-ahead RBI single with two outs in the eighth inning to lift the Bronx Bombers to a 4-3 victory and a decisive Game 3 on Thursday night.
—Ben Verbrugge, MSNBC Newsweek, 2 Oct. 2025
Assistant coach Eddie Riemer, Farke admits, leads on this discipline, but as part of a wider team effort.
—Beren Cross, New York Times, 2 Oct. 2025
In the popular television series Teen Wolf, Cho was one of the only Asian American leads on a teen drama during that time period.
—Laura Sirikul, Forbes.com, 28 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for leads on
Verb
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An untrustworthy future tempts us to either disengage, retreat into cynicism, or live angry.—
Phillip Halpern,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
16 Jan. 2026
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In Indiana, Paoli Peaks features the Arctic Blast Tubing Park, and Perfect North Slopes tempts with 25 tubing lanes (as well as skiing and snowboarding).—
Ginger Crichton,
Midwest Living,
9 Jan. 2026
Verb
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The film frankly depicts the extreme sub-dom relationship that Erika lures Elliot into, peppered with Araki’s trademark playful-surrealism while committed to a certain, refreshing explicitness.—
David Canfield,
HollywoodReporter,
23 Jan. 2026
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Jimenez’s movement lures Matthijs de Ligt up the pitch, stretching the right side of United’s defence, with Leny Yoro already in an advanced position to defend Iwobi.—
Ahmed Walid,
New York Times,
7 Jan. 2026
Verb
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The victim of his sacrifice is Gretchen, a virgin whom Faust seduces and abandons in his devilish reverie, and who kills their illegitimate child.—
Merve Emre,
New Yorker,
1 Dec. 2025
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The film follows the deliciously immoral, widowed Lady Susan Vernon (Kate Beckinsale), who maneuvers, deceives and seduces her way through London and across her relatives' country estates in an effort to find a wealthy husband for herself and her daughter, Frederica (Morfydd Clark).—
Andrea Wurzburger,
PEOPLE,
29 Nov. 2025
Verb
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Capability alone no longer persuades buyers who now want proof of systems that work quietly in the background while results take the center stage.—
Alexander Puutio,
Forbes.com,
28 Jan. 2026
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Nuremberg explores how authoritarian regimes take over democracies — not by making a detailed intellectual case that persuades on its merits but by validating the power fantasies of those who feel shut out.—
Matt Zoller Seitz,
Vulture,
11 Dec. 2025
Verb
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For example, a suet cake with mealworms attracts bluebirds, and adding fruit entices mockingbirds, says Stewart.—
Lauren David,
Southern Living,
16 Dec. 2025
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While Summer most likely has tonnes of toys and a dog bed, there’s something about cardboard boxes that entices pets.—
Lucy Notarantonio,
MSNBC Newsweek,
9 Dec. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Leads on.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/leads%20on. Accessed 31 Jan. 2026.
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