In an act of pure showmanship, Bolton has placed mannequins clothed in fleshlike skintight garments in a tall glass vitrine visible to museumgoers heading toward the medieval wing—a seductive preview that may help lure them away from Arms and Armor.
—
Rachel Syme,
New Yorker,
29 June 2026
For a destination so beloved for its beachfront exploits, a city center hotel that’s a car ride away from the sand may not seem immediately seductive.
The results have often left me highly frustrated, but also have given me indescribable joy at the fact of having absorbed (although only partially, of course) some of the elusive beauty of those marvelous, magical, mysteriously alluring tongues.
—
Douglas Hofstadter,
Time,
30 June 2026
Those memories sent me looking for the world’s most alluring station hotels.
Or that Penélope Cruz’s sultry chilliness would jibe with either her male counterparts or Wilde’s diary-of-a-mad-housewife interpretation of a brittle, eager-to-impress woman brimming with creative frustration.
—
David Fear,
Rolling Stone,
26 June 2026
After a sultry stretch, weather conditions in parts of the Midwest and East are about to get more refreshing for the final week of the astronomical spring season.
The moody reds and vampy blacks that carried us through colder months can take a backseat—this time of year is all about fresh colors, glossy finishes, and designs that practically beg for a vacation photo dump.
—
Daisy Maldonado,
InStyle,
14 June 2026
Advertisement Elsa Lanchester and Boris Karloff in Bride of Frankenstein Getty Images
But today, the female Frankenstein is better associated with the vampy, playful wives of pop culture that partly took note from Elsa Lanchester’s performance, like Morticia Addams or Lily Munster.
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.