elusive
adjUK /ɪˈl(j)uː.sɪv/ · US /ɪˈl(j)u.sɪv/
Etymology From Latin elusus, past participle of eludo (“to parry a blow, to deceive”).
1
Evading capture, comprehension or remembrance.
- The elusive criminal was arrested
- The temporary elusive goal / To reach the solace, to feed once more upon the synthetic reaper of loss / No matter the outcome, the cost2002, Meshuggah, Closed Eye Visuals:
2
Difficult to make precise.
- A precise definition of diarrhea is elusive2010, Robbins & Cotran Pathologic Basis of Disease:
- Charley chased the elusive idea through all the nooks and crannies of his drowning consciousness.1910, Jack London, chapter 6, in Lost Face, archived from the original on 14 Apr 2011:
3
Rarely seen.
- While you're sniffing the trunks of the ponderosas to see if they're butterscotch, vanilla, strawberry, or the elusive chocolate variety, watch for Brown Creepers, an elusive variety of bird.2002, Scott Roederer, Birding: Rocky Mountain National Park, page 93:
- Synonyms
- elusory
- Derived terms
- elusively, elusiveness, unelusive
- Related terms
- elude