Definition of ALLUDES (original) (raw)
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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.
Synonyms
Examples of allude in a Sentence
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
These examples are automatically compiled from online sources to illustrate current usage. Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
This would leave only a cheaper version of the Model 3/Y family as next year’s upcoming new entry version to drive up to 30% growth in car sales, to which Musk alluded. —Christiaan Hetzner, Fortune, 24 Oct. 2024 Uniform practices across all regions could impede the ability of local governments to create business clusters to which the planners allude that are best suited to their region and by nature are different from other regions. —Milton Ezrati, Forbes, 29 Sep. 2024 The Animation Guild alluded that there may be more marches to come, if a deal isn’t struck next week, though a source says nothing is set in stone yet. —Katie Campione, Deadline, 25 Oct. 2024 The answers may allude you as the Leo moon confronts Mercury. —USA TODAY, 25 Oct. 2024 See all Example Sentences for allude 
Word History
Etymology
borrowed from Latin allūdere "to play or romp beside, make a playful or mocking allusion to," from ad- ad- + lūdere "to play" — more at ludicrous
First Known Use
circa 1531, in the meaning defined above
Time Traveler
The first known use of allude was circa 1531
Dictionary Entries Near allude
Cite this Entry
“Allude.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/allude. Accessed 17 Nov. 2024.
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Last Updated: 17 Nov 2024 - Updated example sentences
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