lead on

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lead on

verb leads on · leading on · led on

idiomatic, transitive To mislead, to try to make someone believe a lie. "But when I fell into the mistake I have so long remained in, at least you led me on?" said I. / "Yes," she returned, again nodding steadily, "I let you go on."
idiomatic, transitive, in particular To encourage the illusion of an intimate relationship, or to feign intentions of beginning one. I thought she really loved me but really she was just leading me on.
Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see lead, on.

Translations

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verb to encourage with the illusion of a romantic relationship

Português	iludir
Deutsch	falsche Hoffnungen machen
Русский	водить за нос voditʹ za nos

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MLA

"lead on." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/lead%20on. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

lead on. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/lead%20on

Chicago

"lead on." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/lead%20on.

BibTeX

@misc{lead_on_2026,
  title = {lead on},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/lead%20on},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}