Allusive
adj ·Uncommon ·Advanced level
Definitions
- 1 that contains or makes use of allusions (indirect references or hints)
"English poetry is compelled by the stubbornness of the language continually to renounce the too obviously poetic: but in seeking to be more precise, more dense and more allusive, Russian poetry has never had to give up the straightforward traditional intoxications of sound and rhyme."
- 1 characterized by indirect references wordnet
Example
More examples"English poetry is compelled by the stubbornness of the language continually to renounce the too obviously poetic: but in seeking to be more precise, more dense and more allusive, Russian poetry has never had to give up the straightforward traditional intoxications of sound and rhyme."
Etymology
From Latin allūs-, past participle stem of allūdere (“to joke, jest”; see allude) + -ive.
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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.