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View synonyms for lure

lure

[ loor ]

noun

  1. anything that attracts, entices, or allures.

    Synonyms: temptation

  2. the power of attracting or enticing.
  3. a decoy; live or especially artificial bait used in fishing or trapping.
  4. Falconry. a feathered decoy for attracting a hawk, swung at the end of a long line and sometimes baited with raw meat.
  5. a flap or tassel dangling from the dorsal fin of pediculate fishes, as the angler, that attracts prey to the mouth region.


verb (used with object)

, lured, lur·ing.
  1. to attract, entice, or tempt; allure.

    Synonyms: seduce

    Antonyms: repel

  2. to draw or recall (especially a falcon), as by a lure or decoy.

lure

/ lʊə /

verb

  1. sometimes foll byaway or into to tempt or attract by the promise of some type of reward
  2. falconry to entice (a hawk or falcon) from the air to the falconer by a lure
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012


noun

  1. a person or thing that lures
  2. angling any of various types of brightly-coloured artificial spinning baits, usually consisting of a plastic or metal body mounted with hooks and trimmed with feathers, etc See jig plug spoon
  3. falconry a feathered decoy to which small pieces of meat can be attached and which is equipped with a long thong
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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Derived Forms

  • ˈlurer, noun
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Other Words From

  • lurement noun
  • lurer noun
  • luring·ly adverb
  • un·lured adjective
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Word History and Origins

Origin of lure1

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English, from Anglo-French, Old French luere ( French leurre ), from Frankish lothr- (unrecorded); cognate with Middle High German luoder, German Luder “bait”
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Word History and Origins

Origin of lure1

C14: from Old French loirre falconer's lure, from Germanic; related to Old English lathian to invite
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Idioms and Phrases

Idioms
  1. in lure, Heraldry. noting a pair of wings joined with the tips downward.
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Example Sentences

After a lifetime of using petroleum-based materials, the lure of “planet-friendly” plastics is hard to dispute.

The marketplace is a lure for both influencers and advertisers, while the new tech acquisitions will make it easier to put products in front of customers and convince them to buy them.

From Quartz

It was the 10th anniversary for Pwn2Own, a contest that draws elite hackers from around the globe with the lure of big cash prizes if they manage to exploit previously undiscovered software vulnerabilities, known as “zero-days.”

The promise of owning content to deliver ads fueled by mobile subscriber data was a powerful lure driving Verizon to acquire two of the web’s oldest and best-known media brands.

From Digiday

The lure of March Madness is always chaos, but this one is especially chaotic, a spectacular mess that cannot be contained.

And what is the great lure toward which all efforts are ultimately directed?

The lure and addiction of gaming—which went back to pinball, of course—became a sensation with Asteroids.

Still, despite the fairytale, campaigns pour good money after bad to lure this vote.

As a lure for the ambitious, Silicon Valley and San Francisco are replacing Wall Street.

You know you should walk away but the lure of the cover is just too much.

I found that I still felt the lure of foreign countries, and the less explored or inhabited, the better.

At the upper part of the runway he had built a few steps, wherewith to lure the unwary far enough down to insure a fatal descent.

He even began to formulate plans by which he could lure the unsuspecting Peter Levine into telling what he knew.

It was the older lure that brought every year athletes of fame to run in the historic race.

They had now another hope to lure them; new proofs to read, and in due time, new reviews.

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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.

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