[syn: hedge, fudge, evade, put off, circumvent, parry, elude, skirt, dodge, duck, sidestep]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
Elude \E*lude"\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Eluded; p. pr. & vb. n.
Eluding.] [L. eludere, elusum; e + ludere to play: cf. F.
['e]luder. See Ludicrous.]
To avoid slyly, by artifice, stratagem, or dexterity; to
escape from in a covert manner; to mock by an unexpected
escape; to baffle; as, to elude an officer; to elude
detection, inquiry, search, comprehension; to elude the force
of an argument or a blow.
[1913 Webster]
Me gentle Delia beckons from the plain,
Then, hid in shades, eludes he eager swain. --Pope.
[1913 Webster]
The transition from fetichism to polytheism seems a
gradual process of which the stages elude close
definition. --Tylor.
Syn: To evade; avoid; escape; shun; eschew; flee; mock;
baffle; frustrate; foil.
[1913 Webster]
WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):
elude
v 1: escape, either physically or mentally; "The thief eluded
the police"; "This difficult idea seems to evade her"; "The
event evades explanation" [syn: elude, evade, bilk]
2: be incomprehensible to; escape understanding by; "What you
are seeing in him eludes me" [syn: elude, escape]
3: avoid or try to avoid fulfilling, answering, or performing
(duties, questions, or issues); "He dodged the issue"; "she
skirted the problem"; "They tend to evade their
responsibilities"; "he evaded the questions skillfully" [syn:
hedge, fudge, evade, put off, circumvent, parry,
elude, skirt, dodge, duck, sidestep]
Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0:
80 Moby Thesaurus words for "elude":
avoid, baffle, balk, beg, bewilder, bilk, blast, brave, challenge,
checkmate, circumvent, confound, confront, confuse, contravene,
counter, counteract, countermand, counterwork, cross, dash,
deceive, defeat, defy, destroy, discomfit, disconcert,
discountenance, dish, disrupt, ditch, dodge, double, duck, escape,
eschew, evade, flee, flummox, fly, foil, frustrate, get around,
get away from, get out of, get round, give the runaround,
give the slip, go one better, knock the chocks, nonplus, outfigure,
outflank, outgeneral, outguess, outmaneuver, outplay, outreach,
outsmart, outwit, overreach, pass the buck, perplex, puzzle, ruin,
sabotage, scotch, shake, shake off, shuffle out of, shun, shy,
skirt, spike, spoil, stonewall, stump, thwart, upset, victimize