beguile
verb /bɪˈɡaɪl/
/bɪˈɡaɪl/
(formal)Verb Forms
| present simple I / you / we / they beguile | /bɪˈɡaɪl/ /bɪˈɡaɪl/ |
| he / she / it beguiles | /bɪˈɡaɪlz/ /bɪˈɡaɪlz/ |
| past simple beguiled | /bɪˈɡaɪld/ /bɪˈɡaɪld/ |
| past participle beguiled | /bɪˈɡaɪld/ /bɪˈɡaɪld/ |
| -ing form beguiling | /bɪˈɡaɪlɪŋ/ /bɪˈɡaɪlɪŋ/ |
- beguile somebody (into doing something) to trick somebody into doing something, especially by being nice to them
- She beguiled them into believing her version of events.
- beguile somebody to attract or interest somebody
- He was beguiled by her beauty.
- The tapestries continue to beguile all those who visit the cathedral.
Word OriginMiddle English (in the sense ‘deceive, deprive of by fraud’): from be- ‘thoroughly’ + obsolete guile ‘to deceive’ (from Old French, probably from Old Norse).