Beguiling — Meaning, Definition & Synonyms

adjective verb /bi-ˈgī-liŋ/ be·guil·ing

Meaning & Definition of Beguiling

Beguiling (adjective)

  1. agreeably or charmingly attractive or pleasing

Beguiling (adjective) — Senses, Synonyms & Antonyms

  1. clever at attaining one's ends by indirect and often deceptive means

    "a smart and beguiling child who can manipulate her parents with alarming ease"

    similar: artful, cagey, crafty, cunning, cute, designing, devious, dodgy (chiefly British), foxy, guileful, scheming, shrewd, slick, sly, subtle, tricky, wily
    related: astute, facile, glib, sharp, crooked, deceitful, deceptive, dishonest, fraudulent, insinuating, knavish, Machiavellian, oblique, serpentine, shady, shifty, slippery, sneaky, treacherous, underhand, underhanded, unscrupulous, backhanded, double-dealing, hypocritical, insincere, left-handed, mealy, mealymouthed, smooth-tongued, two-faced, circuitous, circular, roundabout, clandestine, concealed, covert, furtive, hugger-mugger, secret, stealthy, surreptitious, undercover, calculating, plotting
    opposite: artless, guileless, ingenuous, innocent, undesigning
    near: obvious, open, patent, plain, public, unconcealed, aboveboard, candid, direct, forthright, frank, honest, natural, outspoken, plainspoken, real, simple, sincere, straightforward, unaffected, unpretending, unpretentious, unvarnished, childlike, impressionable, simpleminded, unsophisticated, unworldly, unforced, unstudied, trustful, trusting

  2. tending or having power to deceive

    "the beguiling allure of a life of crime"

    similar: deceitful, deceiving, deceptive, deluding, delusive, delusory, fallacious, false, misleading, specious
    related: artful, crafty, cunning, devious, foxy, guileful, shady, shifty, slick, sly, sneaking, sneaky, subtile, subtle, trick, trickish, tricky, underhand, underhanded, wily, inaccurate, incorrect, wrong, bewildering, confounding, distracting, perplexing, puzzling, ambidextrous, crooked, defrauding, dishonest, dissembling, double-dealing, duplicitous, faithless, fast, fraudulent, knavish, lying, mendacious, untrustworthy, untruthful, bogus, counterfeit, fake, feigned, forged, jive (slang), phony, sham, spurious, insidious, perfidious, treacherous, ambiguous, circuitous, equivocal, evasive, artificial, backhanded, hypocritical, insincere, left-handed, two-faced
    opposite: aboveboard, forthright, nondeceptive, straightforward
    near: candid, direct, foursquare, frank, free-spoken, open, openhearted, outspoken, plain, plainspoken, straight, clarifying, elucidative, explanatory, illuminating, revealing, revelatory, honest, trustworthy, truthful

Beguiling (verb) — Senses, Synonyms & Antonyms

  1. to attract or delight as if by magic

    "the magician effortlessly beguiled and amazed the children"

    similar: alluring, bewitching, captivating, charming, enchanting, fascinating, killing, magnetizing, wiling, witching (archaic)
    related: disarming, drawing, enticing, luring, pulling, seducing, tempting, delighting, gratifying, pleasing, arresting, enrapturing, enthralling, entrancing, appealing (to), interesting, intriguing, beckoning, courting, inviting, soliciting, wooing
    near: disgusting, offending, repelling, revolting, annoying, displeasing, irking, boring, tiring, wearying

  2. to cause to believe what is untrue

    "beguiled her into believing that yet another worthless item would enhance her life"

    similar: bamboozling, bluffing, buffaloing, burning, catching, conning, cozening, deceiving, deluding, duping, faking out, fooling, gaffing, gammoning, gulling, having, having on (chiefly British), hoaxing, hoodwinking, hornswoggling, humbugging, juggling, misguiding, misinforming, misleading, snookering, snowing, spoofing, stringing along, suckering, sucking in, taking in, tricking, doing a number on, leading one down the garden path, pulling one's leg, pulling the wool over one's eyes
    related: kidding, putting on, teasing, bleeding, cheating, chiseling, defrauding, diddling, euchring, fleecing, flimflamming, hustling, mulcting, rooking, shortchanging, skinning, squeezing, sticking, stinging, swindling
    opposite: undeceiving
    near: debunking, exposing, revealing, showing up, uncloaking, uncovering, unmasking, disclosing, divulging, telling, unveiling, disabusing, disenchanting, disillusioning

  3. to lead away from a usual or proper course by offering some pleasure or advantage

    "was beguiled by the promise of easy money as a drug dealer"

    similar: alluring, baiting, betraying, decoying, enticing, leading on, luring, seducing, soliciting, tempting
    related: drawing in, inveigling, persuading, roping (in), snowing, catching, enmeshing, ensnaring, entrapping, meshing, snaring, tangling, trapping, bewitching, captivating, charming, enchanting, fascinating, magnetizing, wiling
    near: alerting, cautioning, forewarning, warding (off), warning, driving (away or off), repulsing, turning away

Related Entry: Beguile (verb)

Beguile is a different word from Beguiling. The synonyms below are for beguile, not for beguiling.

  1. to attract or delight as if by magic

    "the magician effortlessly beguiled and amazed the children"

    similar: allure, bewitch, captivate, charm, enchant, fascinate, kill, magnetize, wile, witch (archaic)
    related: disarm, draw, entice, lure, pull, seduce, tempt, delight, gratify, please, arrest, enrapture, enthrall, entrance, appeal (to), interest, intrigue, beckon, court, invite, solicit, woo
    near: disgust, offend, repel, revolt, annoy, displease, irk, bore, tire, weary

  2. to cause to believe what is untrue

    "beguiled her into believing that yet another worthless item would enhance her life"

    similar: bamboozle, bluff, buffalo, burn, catch, con, cozen, deceive, delude, dupe, fake out, fool, gaff, gammon, gull, have, have on (chiefly British), hoax, hoodwink, hornswoggle, humbug, juggle, misguide, misinform, mislead, snooker, snow, spoof, string along, suck in, sucker, take in, trick, do a number on, lead one down the garden path, pull one's leg, pull the wool over one's eyes
    related: kid, put on, tease, bleed, cheat, chisel, defraud, diddle, euchre, fleece, flimflam, hustle, mulct, rook, shortchange, skin, squeeze, stick, sting, swindle
    opposite: undeceive
    near: debunk, expose, reveal, show up, uncloak, uncover, unmask, disclose, divulge, tell, unveil, disabuse, disenchant, disillusion

  3. to lead away from a usual or proper course by offering some pleasure or advantage

    "was beguiled by the promise of easy money as a drug dealer"

    similar: allure, bait, betray, decoy, entice, lead on, lure, seduce, solicit, tempt
    related: draw in, inveigle, persuade, rope (in), snow, catch, enmesh, ensnare, entrap, mesh, snare, tangle, trap, bewitch, captivate, charm, enchant, fascinate, magnetize, wile
    near: alert, caution, forewarn, ward (off), warn, drive (away or off), repulse, turn away

Synonyms, Thesaurus & Another Word for Beguiling

The most common words with a similar meaning to Beguiling:

Chiefly British: dodgy, having on
Archaic: witching
artful, cagey, crafty, cunning, cute, designing, devious, foxy, guileful, scheming, shrewd, slick, sly, subtle, tricky, wily, deceitful, deceiving, deceptive, deluding, delusive, delusory, fallacious, false, misleading, specious, alluring, bewitching, captivating, charming, enchanting, fascinating, killing, magnetizing, wiling, bamboozling, bluffing, buffaloing, burning, catching

Antonyms & Opposite Words for Beguiling

Words with the opposite meaning of Beguiling:

artless, guileless, ingenuous, innocent, undesigning, aboveboard, forthright, nondeceptive, straightforward, undeceiving

Related Words for Beguiling

astute, facile, glib, sharp, crooked, dishonest, fraudulent, insinuating, knavish, Machiavellian, oblique, serpentine, shady, shifty, slippery, sneaky, treacherous, underhand, underhanded, unscrupulous, backhanded, double-dealing, hypocritical, insincere, left-handed, mealy, mealymouthed, smooth-tongued, two-faced, circuitous

Near Antonyms of Beguiling

obvious, open, patent, plain, public, unconcealed, candid, direct, frank, honest, natural, outspoken, plainspoken, real, simple, sincere, unaffected, unpretending, unpretentious, unvarnished, childlike, impressionable, simpleminded, unsophisticated, unworldly, unforced, unstudied, trustful, trusting, foursquare

Word Forms of Beguiling

Derived words: beguilingly (adverb)

Origin & Etymology of Beguiling

First known use: 1646

Frequently Asked Questions about Beguiling

What does "Beguiling" mean?

"Beguiling" means agreeably or charmingly attractive or pleasing. As an an adjective and a verb, it is defined as: agreeably or charmingly attractive or pleasing. It has 5 distinct senses.

What is another word for "Beguiling"?

Other words for "Beguiling" include artful, cagey, crafty, cunning, cute, designing, devious and dodgy. The best synonym depends on which meaning of "Beguiling" you intend.

What are different ways to say "Beguiling"?

There are 207 words and phrases with a similar meaning to "Beguiling". Common alternatives include artful, cagey, crafty, cunning, cute, designing, devious, dodgy, foxy and guileful.

What is the opposite of "Beguiling"?

Antonyms of "Beguiling" include artless, guileless, ingenuous, innocent, undesigning, aboveboard, forthright and nondeceptive. Near antonyms include obvious, open, patent and plain.

How do you use "Beguiling" in a sentence?

Examples of "Beguiling" in a sentence: "a smart and beguiling child who can manipulate her parents with alarming ease"; "the beguiling allure of a life of crime"; "the magician effortlessly beguiled and amazed the children".

Is "Beguiling" a noun, verb, or adjective?

"Beguiling" can be used as an adjective and a verb, depending on the context.

How do you pronounce "Beguiling"?

"Beguiling" is pronounced /bi-ˈgī-liŋ/ and divided into syllables as be·guil·ing.

What is the origin of the word "Beguiling"?

First known use: 1646.