Inveigle

//ɪnˈveɪɡl̩// verb

verb ·Moderate ·College level

Definitions

Verb
  1. 1
    To convert, convince, or win over with flattery or wiles. transitive

    "And he that could with giftes and promiſes, / Inueigle him that lead a thouſand horſe, / And make him falſe his faith vnto his King, / Will quickly win ſuch as be like himſelfe."

  2. 2
    influence or urge by gentle urging, caressing, or flattering wordnet
  3. 3
    To obtain through guile or cunning. transitive

    "He inveigled an introduction to my sister from me."

  4. 4
    To fool, to delude, to blind in judgement. obsolete, transitive
  5. 5
    To ensnare, to entangle. obsolete, transitive

Synonyms

All synonyms
enticeallureattractbaitbait the hookbat the eyes

Example

More examples

"Larsen tried to inveigle me into discussion."

Etymology

Early corruption of French aveugler (“to blind, to delude”), from French aveugle (“blind”), from the Old French avugle (“without eyes”), from Late Latin ab oculīs (“without eyes”, literally “away from the eyes”). The in- might be from other a-/en- variations found in Middle English, which were then latinised into in-.

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.