allure
verbEtymology From Middle English aluren, from Old French aleurer, alurer, from a (“to, towards”) (Latin ad) + leurre (“lure”). By surface analysis, al- + lure.
1
To entice; to attract.
- [They retained] their ſweet skill in wonted melody; / Which euer after they abuſd to ill, / T’allure weake trueillers, whom gotten they did kill.1590, Edmund Spenser, “Book II, Canto XII”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, →OCLC, stanza 31, pages 370–371:
- Injustice doth allure them; as the honour of their vertuous actions enticeth the good.1603, Michel de Montaigne, chapter 8, in John Florio, transl., The Essayes […], book II, London: […] Val[entine] Simmes for Edward Blount […], →OCLC:
1 more example
- A tender voice his wondring ear allur'd.1737, R[ichard] Glover, “Book VI”, in Leonidas. A Poem., page 152:
- Synonyms
33 terms
attract, entice, tempt, decoy, seduce, allure, arrest, becharm, beguile, bewitch, beckon, captivate, charm, court, delight, draw, effascinate, enchant, engage, enthrall, entrance, enrapture, fascinate, forspeak, hypnotize, interest, intrigue, mesmerize, pull, pull in, sirenize, spellbind, tole- Derived terms
- allurance, allurement, allurer, unallured
- Related terms
- lure, capture, hold, attractive