elusive

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elusive

/ɪˈl(j)uː.sɪv/ UK
[ɪˈl(j)uː.zɪv] UK
/iˈl(j)uː.sɪv/ UK
[iˈl(j)uː.zɪv] UK
/ɪˈl(j)u.sɪv/ Canada, US
[ɪˈl(j)u.zɪv] Canada, US
/əˈl(j)u.sɪv/ Canada, US
/iˈl(j)u.sɪv/ Canada, US
[iˈl(j)u.zɪv] Canada, US
/ɪˈlʉː.sɪv/ Australia
/əˈlʉː.sɪv/ Australia
/əˈlʉː.səv/ New Zealand

Sounds like illusive

Where it comes from

From Latin elusus, past participle of eludo (“to parry a blow, to deceive”).

adjective more elusive · most elusive

Evading capture, comprehension or remembrance. The elusive criminal was arrested
Difficult to make precise. A precise definition of diarrhea is elusive
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.

Similar: elusory

Thesaurus

Closest in meaning: evasive, subtle, artful, impalpable, unidentifiable, stealth, discreet, sneak, sly, dodgy, cryptic, obscure, problematic, puzzling, tricky, difficult

adjective

Similar: elusory

Translations

Every language

adj evading capture, comprehension or remembrance

Español	elusivo, huidizo, escurridizo, esquivo, inaprensible
Português	elusivo, fugidio
Français	évasif, insaisissable, rare
Deutsch	flüchtig, schwer fassbar
Italiano	elusivo
Ελληνικά	ασύλληπτος asýlliptos, φευγαλέος fevgaléos
Română	evaziv
Русский	неуловимый neulovimyj, ускользающий uskolʹzajuščij
العربية	متملص mutamalliṣ, مراوغ murāwiḡ
עברית	חֲמַקְמָק ẖamaqmáq

adj difficult to describe

Español	impreciso, inexacto, indefinible, ambiguo
Português	elusivo
Français	ambigu, obscur
Deutsch	schwierig, schwer fassbar, schwer zu beschreiben
Русский	труднодостижимый trudnodostižimyj
Tiếng Việt	khó tả

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MLA

"elusive." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/elusive. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

elusive. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/elusive

Chicago

"elusive." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/elusive.

BibTeX

@misc{elusive_2026,
  title = {elusive},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/elusive},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}