Seduce
verb ·Common ·High school level
Definitions
- 1 To beguile or lure (someone) away from duty, accepted principles, or proper conduct; to lead astray. transitive
"[…] they alledged, That becauſe I had ſome Rudiments of Reaſon, added to the natural pravity of thoſe Animals, it was to be feared, I might be able to ſeduce them into the woody and mountainous parts of the Country, and bring them in Troops by night to deſtroy the Houyhnhnms Cattle, as being naturally of the ravenous kind, and averſe from Labour."
- 2 lure or entice away from duty, principles, or proper conduct wordnet
- 3 To entice or induce (someone) to engage in a sexual relationship. transitive
""Mrs. Robinson, are you trying to seduce me?" "Do you want me to seduce you?""
- 4 induce to have sex wordnet
- 5 To have sexual intercourse with. broadly, euphemistic, transitive
"He had repeatedly seduced the girl in his car, hotels and his home."
Show 1 more definition
- 6 To win over or attract. transitive
"He was seduced by the bright lights and glamour of the city."
Example
More examples"His vain efforts to seduce her showed he was barking up the wrong tree; she was a mother of two tots."
Etymology
Borrowed from Latin sēdūcō (“to lead apart or astray”), from sē- (“aside, away, astray”) + dūcō (“to lead”); see duct. Compare adduce, conduce, deduce, etc. and Middle English seduct.
Related phrases
More for "seduce"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.