seduce

C2+ Topic:Actions & Processes

US /sɪˈdus/ UK /sɪˈdjuːs/ See IPA manual

Meanings

1

verb
to lead astray or entice, especially into wrongdoing or desire

The salesman tried to seduce her with promises of easy riches.

Verb forms

Verb forms are not available for this word yet.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 verb · to lead astray or entice,... entice tempt lure allure beguile inveigle lead astray

Opposites

repel deter dissuade

Word family

Forms seductionseductions

Derived forms seducerseductionseducibleseductive

Related forms seductionseductiveseducer

Simplified etymology

Seduce entered English in the late Middle English period and ultimately derives from Latin ducere, “to lead.” It originally meant to lead someone away from duty; the sexual sense developed in the mid-16th century.

Etymology

From Latin 'seducere' ('to lead apart, lead astray'), from 'se-' ('apart, away') + 'ducere' ('to lead').

seducere Latin ducere Latin

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Actions & Processes

External links

# seduce

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** verb
**IPA (US):** /sɪˈdus/
**IPA (UK):** /sɪˈdjuːs/

## Meanings
1. to lead astray or entice, especially into wrongdoing or desire

## Examples
- The salesman tried to seduce her with promises of easy riches.

## Synonyms
- entice
- tempt
- lure
- allure
- beguile
- inveigle
- lead astray

## Antonyms
- repel
- deter
- dissuade

## Derived Forms
- seducer
- seduction
- seducible
- seductive

## Related Forms
- seduction
- seductive
- seducer

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: seducere
- Root: ducere - to lead

## Etymology
From Latin 'seducere' ('to lead apart, lead astray'), from 'se-' ('apart, away') + 'ducere' ('to lead').

## AI Etymology
Seduce comes from Latin 'seducere' ('to lead apart, lead astray'), from 'se-' ('apart, away') + 'ducere' ('to lead'). The historical chain includes Latin seducere and Latin ducere. Older glosses in the chain include "seducere", "to lead apart, lead astray", "se-", and "apart, away", which help explain the semantic range of the modern word. Morphologically, seduce is best read as compound and borrowing, yielding an English verb shaped by both form history and later usage. In current English it functions as a verb, with the sense "to lead astray or entice, especially into wrongdoing or desire". English derivatives include seducer, seduction, seducible, and seductive; related forms include seduction, seductive, and seducer. The result is an English verb whose etymology preserves the older forms while supporting the word's specialized modern meaning.

## Topics
- Actions & Processes

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