adjective
- Difficult to describe.
- usage: "a haunting elusive odor"
- Skillful at eluding capture. "a cabal of conspirators, each more elusive than the archterrorist- David Kline
- Difficult to detect or grasp by the mind or analyze.
- usage: "his whole attitude had undergone a subtle change"; "a subtle difference"; "that elusive thing the soul"
- synonyms: subtle
- Making great mental demands; hard to comprehend or solve or believe.
- usage: "a baffling problem"; "I faced the knotty problem of what to have for breakfast"; "a problematic situation at home"
- synonyms: baffling, knotty, problematic, problematical, tough
WordNet 3.0 © 2006 by Princeton University
| APA | WordNet. (2010). elusive. Retrieved September 21, 2026, from http://smartdefine.org/elusive/definitions/1173216 |
| Chicago | WordNet. 2010. "elusive" http://smartdefine.org/elusive/definitions/1173216 (accessed September 21, 2026). |
| Harvard | WordNet 2010, elusive, Smart Define, viewed 21 September, 2026, <http://smartdefine.org/elusive/definitions/1173216>. |
| MLA | WordNet. "elusive" 23 October 2010. Web. 21 September 2026. <http://smartdefine.org/elusive/definitions/1173216> |