allurement

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   the quality or power of being strongly attractive or fascinating

   Part of the island's allurement lies in its isolation from mass tourism.

2. 2
   noun

   something that attracts or tempts a person; an enticement

   The promise of quick profits was the scheme's chief allurement.

3. 3
   noun

   the act or process of attracting or enticing someone

   The law treated the deliberate allurement of recruits by false promises as fraud.

Formed in the sixteenth century from allure + -ment. Allure came through Anglo-French alurer, from Old French a ("to") + loirre ("falconer's lure"); the idea of drawing a trained bird toward a lure broadened to attraction and temptation.

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