as in to tempt
to lead away from a usual or proper course by offering some pleasure or advantage
a con man whose dupes are usually led on by their own greed and eagerness to turn an easy buck
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for lead on
Verb
-
After this went down, one might be tempted to joke that Rodgers was in store for a green room retreat!—
Jim Reineking,
USA Today,
31 Mar. 2025 -
The first half hour is filled with the weirdly neutral techno jargon of soldiers jabbering code words into their headphones to what I (as a know-nothing) am tempted to call Mission Control.—
Owen Gleiberman,
Variety,
28 Mar. 2025
Verb
-
In years past, I’ve been lured in by the promise of free filing from commercial tax-prep software, only to find out that my situation doesn’t qualify.—
Liz Knueven,
CNBC,
21 Mar. 2025
-
Jamie Carragher spoke about how he was lured out of international retirement specifically to work with Capello, having grown up admiring the defensive quality of his old Milan side.—
Michael Cox,
The Athletic,
20 Mar. 2025
Verb
-
Single women—more likely, naturally, to be seduced by the devil—were disproportionately executed for witchcraft.—
Faith Hill,
The Atlantic,
2 Apr. 2025
-
Taking over a century-old garden house hidden within Shanghai’s storied alleys, Samuel Gui Yang softly partitioned the space, seducing the audience yet making every one of them a clandestine voyeur.—
Tianwei Zhang,
Footwear News,
1 Apr. 2025
Verb
-
The two-day violence was a major setback in Damascus’ efforts to improve its image and persuade Europe and the United States to lift economic sanctions after over a decade of conflict.—
Omar Albam and Kareem Chehayeb,
Los Angeles Times,
25 Mar. 2025
-
Grant said despite the financial and efficiency gains AI can offer organizations, persuading leadership to spend major dollars on such initiatives can still prove trying.—
Meghan Hall,
Sourcing Journal,
24 Mar. 2025
Verb
-
Numerous observers believe the Bay Area could begin to see an economic lift from the rush into artificial intelligence, a fledgling field that has enticed investors and fueled startup activity.—
George Avalos,
Mercury News,
28 Mar. 2025
-
And there are plenty of people out there to entice, given that the majority of Americans these days aren’t regular moviegoers.—
William Earl,
Variety,
27 Mar. 2025
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.
Cite this Entry
“Lead on.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/lead%20on. Accessed 7 Apr. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share