inveigle
verb
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."
Examples of inveigle in a Sentence
Mark Feeney, BostonGlobe.com, 11 Sep. 2023
Norman Mailer tried to inveigle his dinner guests into an orgy, and not long after wrote a cruel letter to Styron, breaking off their friendship.
—Marion Winik, Washington Post, 15 June 2023
At a ball where Byron was surrounded by a flock of ladies, Lamb inveigled the hostess to introduce her, and, having looked earnestly, wordlessly, into the poet’s face, Lamb immediately turned on her heel.
—Clare McHugh, Washington Post, 28 May 2023
Another threat that is likely to inveigle itself into the Web3 domain is phishing.
—Andrew Newman, Forbes, 4 May 2022
All of those thinly veiled efforts to inveigle an answer are met with a stock response.
—New York Times, 26 Nov. 2021
To reach Peru, Dr. Koepcke had to first get to a port and inveigle his way onto a trans-Atlantic freighter.
—New York Times, 18 June 2021
The two cell-surface proteins that SARS-CoV-2 uses to make contact with its target cells and inveigle its way into them would fit into this category.
—The Economist, 20 Aug. 2020
And, finally, he is lost at the very end of the world when he is sent on to Edinburgh, to inveigle his way into the affections of the Scottish King James VI, poised to become the English King James I upon Elizabeth’s death.
—Dominic Dromgoole, New York Times, 11 Feb. 2020
Dictionary Entries Near inveigle
Cite this Entry
“Inveigle.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/inveigle. Accessed 1 Dec. 2024.
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inveigle
verb
Legal Definition
inveigle
transitive verb
U.S. Code
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