Adjacent Words

Beguile definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

BEGUI'LE, v.t. begi'le. [be and guile.] To delude; to deceive; to impose on by artifice or craft.
The serpent beguiled me and I did eat Genesis 3.
1. To elude by craft.
When misery could beguile the tyrant's rage.
2. To elude any thing disagreeable by amusement, or other means; to pass pleasingly; to amuse; as, to beguile the tedious day with sleep.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

v
1: influence by slyness [syn: juggle, beguile, hoodwink]
2: attract; cause to be enamored; "She captured all the men's hearts" [syn: capture, enamour, trance, catch, becharm, enamor, captivate, beguile, charm, fascinate, bewitch, entrance, enchant]

Merriam Webster's

verb (beguiled; beguiling) Date: 13th century transitive verb 1. to lead by deception 2. hoodwink 3. to while away especially by some agreeable occupation; also divert 2 4. to engage the interest of by or as if by guile intransitive verb to deceive by wiles Synonyms: see deceive • beguilement noun • beguiler noun • beguilingly adverb

Oxford Reference Dictionary

v.tr. 1 charm; amuse. 2 divert attention pleasantly from (toil etc.). 3 (usu. foll. by of, out of, or into + verbal noun) delude; cheat (beguiled him into paying). Derivatives: beguilement n. beguiler n. beguiling adj. beguilingly adv. Etymology: BE- + obs. guile to deceive

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Beguile Be*guile", v. t. [imp. & p. p. Beguiled; p. pr. & vb. n. Beguiling.] 1. To delude by guile, artifice, or craft; to deceive or impose on, as by a false statement; to lure. The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat. --Gen. iii. 13. 2. To elude, or evade by craft; to foil. [Obs.] When misery could beguile the tyrant's rage. --Shak. 3. To cause the time of to pass without notice; to relieve the tedium or weariness of; to while away; to divert. Ballads . . . to beguile his incessant wayfaring. --W. Irving. Syn: To delude; deceive; cheat; insnare; mislead; amuse; divert; entertain.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(beguiles, beguiling, beguiled) 1. If something beguiles you, you are charmed and attracted by it. I was beguiled by the romance and exotic atmosphere of the souks in Marrakech. VERB: V n 2. If someone beguiles you into doing something, they trick you into doing it. He used his newspapers to beguile the readers into buying shares in his company. VERB: V n into -ing

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

be-gil': In 2Pe 2:14 the King James Version (compare Jas 1:14) the word deleazo, is translated "beguile," and means particularly to "entice," "catch by bait." Doubtless Peter got this idea from his old business of fishing, baiting the hook to beguile the fish. In Ro 7:11; 16:18; 1Co 3:18 the word is exapatao, and means "to cheat" or "to thoroughly deceive." The thought is to be so completely deceived as to accept falsehood for the truth, believing it to be the truth. In Col 2:4,18 the King James Version; Jas 1:22 the word is paralogizomai, and means "to miscalculate," "to be imposed upon." It refers particularly to being beguiled by mere probability.

See DECEIT; DELUSION.

Jacob W. Kapp

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

v. a. 1. Delude, cheat, deceive. See befool. 2. Divert, amuse, entertain, cheer, solace, while away.

Moby Thesaurus

allure, amuse, bamboozle, beat, becharm, beguile of, betray, bewitch, bilk, bluff, bunco, burn, cajole, call away, captivate, carry away, cast a spell, charm, cheat, cheat on, chisel, chouse, chouse out of, circumvent, cog, cog the dice, con, conjure, convulse, cozen, crib, cross, deceive, defraud, delight, delude, deprive of, detract, detract attention, diddle, distract, divert, divert the mind, do in, do out of, double-cross, dupe, enchant, engage, engross, enliven, enrapture, enravish, entertain, enthrall, entice, entrance, euchre, exhilarate, exploit, fascinate, finagle, finesse, flam, fleece, fleet, flimflam, fob, fool, forestall, four-flush, fracture one, fudge, gammon, get around, gouge, gull, gyp, have, hoax, hocus, hocus-pocus, hoodwink, hornswaggle, humbug, hypnotize, infatuate, intrigue, jockey, juggle, kill, knock dead, let down, loosen up, lure, maneuver, mesmerize, mislead, mock, mulct, outmaneuver, outreach, outsmart, outwit, overreach, pack the deal, pigeon, play, play one false, practice fraud upon, put something over, raise a laugh, raise a smile, recreate, refresh, regale, relax, rook, scam, screw, seduce, sell, sell gold bricks, sell out, shave, shortchange, slay, snow, solace, spell, spellbind, split, stack the cards, stick, sting, string along, swindle, take a dive, take in, thimblerig, throw a fight, tickle, titillate, transport, trick, two-time, vamp, victimize, wile, witch, wow