Word of the Day

: June 21, 2021

inveigle

verb in-VAY-gul

What It Means

1 : to win over by wiles : entice

2 : to acquire by ingenuity or flattery : wangle

inveigle in Context

"Maybe she and Terfel, … whose trajectory into the upper ranks of opera began in 1989 after winning the Lieder Prize at the BBC Cardiff Singer of the World, felt a certain kinship. Either way, after their first meeting she inveigled him into fundraising performances and concerts…." — Henry Bourne, The Daily Telegraph (London), 20 Feb. 2021

"Yet another feather in Channel 5's home-grown drama cap, this intriguing four-parter should satisfy mystery fans perhaps unfulfilled by ITV's Finding Alice. Halfpenny excels as the obsessed mother, inveigling her way into the lives of the boy and his father." — Gerard Gilbert, i (inews.co.uk), 1 Feb. 2021

Did You Know?

Inveigle, a word that dates from the 16th century, refers to the act of using clever talk, trickery, or flattery either to persuade somebody to do something or to obtain something, but etymologically the word is linked to eyesight—or the lack thereof. Inveigle came to English from the Anglo-French verb enveegler, meaning "to blind or hoodwink someone," from the adjective enveugle, meaning "blind." Enveugle derives from the Medieval Latin ab oculis, a phrase which literally translates to "lacking eyes."