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Usage of Allude
Allude is a word with playful roots—literally. It comes from the Latin alludere, which means "to play with," and shares the root of Latin ludere ("to play") with other English words, such as ludicrous and delude. One of the former meanings of allude was "to engage in wordplay": this sense is now long obsolete.
Although some people think that allude must always specifically entail an indirect reference, this is not the case; people have been using allude in the sense of "to refer to directly" for well over a century (as in "The Man Without a Country," the short story by Edward Everett Hale from 1863: "He never alluded so directly to his story again..."). So while allude may more commonly be used in the sense of expressing something indirectly, it is neither uncommon nor improper to use it to mean something more direct.
Allude need not always be followed by the preposition to, although that is the most common construction in modern usage.
Examples of allude in a Sentence
Clifford A. Pickover, Surfing Through Hyperspace, 1999
Adams had alluded to slavery in 1816, when he confided to Jefferson that "there will be greater difficulties to preserve our Union, than You and I, our Fathers Brothers Friends … have had to form it."
—Joseph J. Ellis, American Heritage, May/June 1993
The more challenging problems in fact—ones that the optimists rarely allude to—will be the problems of success.
—Charles R. Morris, Atlantic, October 1989
Mrs. Simons alluded to some health problems, without being specific.
Charisma Madarang, Rolling Stone, 2 May 2025
While Booker did not offer evidence, the senator alluded that the White House could have been giving insider information to stockholders before Trump announced a 90-day pause on tariffs that were meant to begin last week.
—Jenny Goldsberry, The Washington Examiner, 14 Apr. 2025
Batista demanded Smith leave the area, going as far as to wave handcuffs alluding that Smith would be arrested.
—Devoun Cetoute, Miami Herald, 7 Mar. 2025
Two weeks after announcing her pregnancy, TikTok star Teale Kelley shared a series of emotional videos alluding that something devastating had occurred in her personal world.
—Zoey Lyttle, People.com, 5 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for allude
Cite this Entry
“Allude.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/allude. Accessed 13 May. 2025.
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