a. [f. L. ēlūs- ppl. stem of ēlūdĕre to ELUDE.]

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  1.  That eludes or seeks to elude. Const. of.

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1725.  Pope, Odyss., II. 99. Elusive of the bridal day she gives Ford hopes to all.

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1736.  Gray, Transl. Statius. Then grasped its [the ball’s] weight elusive of his hold.

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1737.  Savage, Publ. Spirit, 56. The grot, elusive of the noontide ray.

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  † b.  Of an argument: Evasive, of the nature of a subterfuge. Obs.

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1719.  Waterland, Vind. Christ’s Div., 121. An elusive, equivocating Answer to the Objection.

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  2.  a. That eludes the grasp or pursuit; chiefly fig. b. That eludes distinct perception or precise definition; evanescent.

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1751.  Student, II. 364. Pleasures … insubstantial, elusive, and transitory.

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1762.  Falconer, Shipwr., II. 731. They … groaning, cling upon the elusive weed.

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1830.  Cunningham, Brit. Paint., II. 142. It presents us with images so vivid and yet elusive.

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1863.  Hawthorne, Old Home (1879), 138. A faint, elusive smell.

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1865.  M. Arnold, Ess. Crit., iii. (1875), 111. Guérin’s elusive, undulating, impalpable nature.

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1883.  W. H. Rideing, in Harper’s Mag., July, 177/2. Striving … after the elusive spirit of the general landscape.

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