seduce means to beguile or lure (someone) away from duty, accepted principles, or proper conduct; to lead astray. It carries an Arena rating of 1880, earned across 20 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, seduce ranks #369 of 17,134 for Most Malleable Words, #494 of 17,126 for Most Elegant Words, #637 of 17,127 for Words That Escaped Their Books, #1,087 of 17,104 for Most Storied Words.
seduce is pronounced /sɪˈdjuːs/.
Why “seduce” is a great word
To lead someone away from proper conduct or duty, or to entice them into a sexual relationship. From the Latin sēdūcere, from sē- ("aside, away") + dūcere ("to lead"), first attested in English c. 1520s. Unlike tempt, which merely suggests the arousal of an unwise desire, or persuade, which implies a triumph of argument, seduce carries the specific weight of a successful, often ruinous, leading astray. It is the hand extended in the dark corridor, the whisper that makes duty seem a foolish abstraction, and the calculated offer of a poison that tastes, for one perfect moment, like liberation—the quiet art of making corruption feel like a choice.
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.
verb
- To beguile or lure (someone) away from duty, accepted principles, or proper conduct; to lead astray.
- To entice or induce (someone) to engage in a sexual relationship.e.g.“She also approaches the fires, and seeks to seduce young men.” — 1850, Thomas Keightley, The Fairy Mythology, London: H.G. Bohn, page 153:
- To have sexual intercourse with.e.g.“He had repeatedly seduced the girl in his car, hotels and his home.”
- To win over or attract.e.g.“He was seduced by the bright lights and glamour of the city.”
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
Words closest in meaning
By meaning, not spelling — each word's AI semantic fingerprint, nearest first.