allude

verb

al·lude ə-ˈlüd

alluded; alluding

Synonyms of allude next

intransitive verb

: to make indirect reference

comments alluding to an earlier discussion

broadly : refer

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Usage of Allude

Allude is a word with playful roots—literally. It comes from the Latin alludere, which means "to play with," and shares the root of Latin ludere ("to play") with other English words, such as ludicrous and delude. One of the former meanings of allude was "to engage in wordplay": this sense is now long obsolete.

Although some people think that allude must always specifically entail an indirect reference, this is not the case; people have been using allude in the sense of "to refer to directly" for well over a century (as in "The Man Without a Country," the short story by Edward Everett Hale from 1863: "He never alluded so directly to his story again..."). So while allude may more commonly be used in the sense of expressing something indirectly, it is neither uncommon nor improper to use it to mean something more direct.

Allude need not always be followed by the preposition to, although that is the most common construction in modern usage.

Example Sentences

As alluded to previously, the entire universe may actually exist in a higher-dimensional space. —

Clifford A. Pickover, Surfing Through Hyperspace, 1999

Adams had alluded to slavery in 1816, when he confided to Jefferson that "there will be greater difficulties to preserve our Union, than You and I, our Fathers Brothers Friends … have had to form it." —

Joseph J. Ellis, American Heritage, May/June 1993

The more challenging problems in fact—ones that the optimists rarely allude to—will be the problems of success. —

Charles R. Morris, Atlantic, October 1989

Mrs. Simons alluded to some health problems, without being specific.

Recent Examples on the Web Rivera alluded that her outburst toward Gaete might be only part of the reason she was fired. —

Wendy Geller, Peoplemag, 28 Apr. 2023 Her 'Absolutely Wrecked' The Big Bang Theory alum also shared photos of her daughter Matilda and alluded that the 8-week-old also helped Mom out in her own way. —

Kimberlee Speakman, Peoplemag, 31 May 2023 For both Tracer and Soldier: 76, their queerness was first called out in comics, and aside from a contextless spray for Tracer depicting her girlfriend Emily, the game didn’t allude at all to either’s identity. —

Ash Parrish, The Verge, 30 May 2023 The concept of tampering hit the forefront with the advent of the transfer portal -- the reality Freeze alluded too as an obvious barrier to his thought process -- and the 2021 introduction on NIL compensation. —

Michael Casagrande | McAsagrande@al.com, al, 8 Apr. 2023 The Texan alluded in his endorsement to the fact that Trump, for all his bluster and popularity among the GOP base, has a mediocre record in elections. —

Todd J. Gillman, Dallas News, 15 Mar. 2023 The challenge to which DiVincenzo alluded has to do with his offensive efficiency. —

C.j. Holmes, San Francisco Chronicle, 8 May 2023 Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R., Ky.) made his formal return to the U.S. Capitol on Monday, alluding only briefly to the concussion and rib fracture that kept him away from the Capitol dome for a month. —

Siobhan Hughes, wsj.com, 17 Apr. 2023 The glamorous niece of Princess Diana is set to wed Greg Mallett, and the couple alluded that the date is on the horizon in a joint Instagram post shared on Thursday. —

Janine Henni, Peoplemag, 16 Mar. 2023 See More

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'allude.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.