allure 1 of 2

allure

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verb

Synonym Chooser

How is the word allure different from other verbs like it?

Some common synonyms of allure are attract, captivate, charm, enchant, and fascinate. While all these words mean "to draw another by exerting a powerful influence," allure implies an enticing by what is fair, pleasing, or seductive.

an alluring smile

When might attract be a better fit than allure?

Although the words attract and allure have much in common, attract applies to any degree or kind of ability to exert influence over another.

students attracted by the school's locale

How are the words charm and captivate related as synonyms of allure?

Charm implies the power of casting a spell over the person or thing affected and so compelling a response, but it may, like captivate, suggest no more than evoking delight or admiration.

charmed by their hospitality
her performances captivated audiences

When can enchant be used instead of allure?

While in some cases nearly identical to allure, enchant is perhaps the strongest of these terms in stressing the appeal of the agent and the degree of delight evoked in the subject.

hopelessly enchanted by her beauty

When would fascinate be a good substitute for allure?

While the synonyms fascinate and allure are close in meaning, fascinate suggests a magical influence and tends to stress the ineffectiveness of attempts to resist.

a story that continues to fascinate children

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of allure
Noun
Apart from that prolonged display of horror, she's usually seen approaching Ethan with a warm, hungry-eyed allure, like a jewelry model being introduced to a tray of diamonds. Tom Gliatto, People.com, 14 May 2025 Sources said the allure of an outsider remains tempting for the BBC, and Holland’s mix of commercial and public service experience could work in his favor. Jake Kanter, Deadline, 9 May 2025
Verb
While the expansive sight of Lee’s Wharf and Newport Harbor may allure you, the food and lively atmosphere at Flora will draw you back. airmail.news, 9 Sep. 2024 Art and Patrick are longtime best friends and tennis rivals both chasing after the same woman, allured by her grace on the tennis court. Ryan Lattanzio, IndieWire, 1 Dec. 2024 See All Example Sentences for allure
Recent Examples of Synonyms for allure
Noun
  • That case, like the one on school T-shirts, arose from appeals by the Alliance Defending Freedom, a Christian legal group.
    David G. Savage, Los Angeles Times, 27 May 2025
  • However, after weeks of volatile visa policies, capped with the Trump administration’s move last week to terminate Harvard University’s ability to enroll international students, the appeal of the U.S. as a host country is in flux.
    Anna Esaki-Smith, Forbes.com, 27 May 2025
Verb
  • Moore's Michaela is mysterious, commanding, and beyond wealthy, described in the trailer and elsewhere as someone with the ability to charm into subservience.
    Randall Colburn, EW.com, 22 May 2025
  • Viewers on TikTok were charmed by the emotional reunion.
    Lydia Patrick, MSNBC Newsweek, 20 May 2025
Verb
  • Users might be tempted to delay applying the update until there’s clarity from Microsoft, but often these reports are only seen afterward.
    Zak Doffman, Forbes.com, 18 May 2025
  • One might be tempted to say that this dismissal is merely another episode in the grotesque sitcom that is Trumpian politics.
    Jack Hill, Baltimore Sun, 17 May 2025
Verb
  • Fahy is a lot of fun playing against recent type as a blue-collar woman who has zero interest in the glamorous, opulent world that so fascinates her sister.
    Alan Sepinwall, Rolling Stone, 22 May 2025
  • The bear — maybe fascinated by flying soot or maybe out of pure cussedness — had taken a fiendish delight in batting lengths of stovepipe around.
    Ted Updike, Outdoor Life, 22 May 2025
Verb
  • Brooks, in her movies, lures men to their doom—or taunts men with her availability, only to refuse them.
    David Denby, New Yorker, 23 May 2025
  • Video surveillance appeared to show a man with a can of food luring the cat before grabbing the animal and driving away in a white Toyota Tacoma pickup truck.
    Andrew J. Campa, Los Angeles Times, 22 May 2025
Noun
  • On the one hand, the opening scene begins in a car, the most familiar of locations in a filmography that has always shared Abbas Kiarostami’s fascination with automobiles as places that are both public and private all at once.
    David Ehrlich, IndieWire, 20 May 2025
  • One of them is a conversation with Armando, which holds great fascination and curiosity for one of the women, Flavia (Laura Lufési), and could be a key to unlocking all the mystery.
    Pete Hammond, Deadline, 18 May 2025
Verb
  • Will the new level of EV functionality even entice GM to end the ban of CarPlay in electrics?
    Michael Teo Van Runkle, Forbes.com, 15 May 2025
  • Google and eBay are ramping up technology to help brands and sellers entice consumers.
    Meghan Hall, Sourcing Journal, 14 May 2025
Verb
  • Sirens is smartest when paralleling the entitlement of 21st century American wealth with Ancient Greek divinity, skewering the insularity and entitlement of these modern plutocrats who throw galas to honor themselves and to torment or seduce the mortals who are their employees and playthings.
    Daniel Fienberg, HollywoodReporter, 22 May 2025
  • This would suck capital investment back to America in a nanosecond and financially seduce companies to reshore factories, labs and headquarters back here with bargain-low tax rates.
    Stephen Moore, Boston Herald, 14 May 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Allure.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/allure. Accessed 30 May. 2025.

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