Nearby Words

illusive

[ih-loo-siv] Example Sentences Origin

il·lu·sive

[ih-loo-siv]
adjective

Origin:
1670–80; illus(ory) + -ive

il·lu·sive·ly, adverb
il·lu·sive·ness, noun
non·il·lu·sive, adjective
non·il·lu·sive·ly, adverb
non·il·lu·sive·ness, noun
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un·il·lu·sive, adjective
COLLAPSE
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Illusive is always a great word to know.
So is ninnyhammer. Does it mean:
a fool or simpleton; ninny.
a printed punctuation mark (‽), available only in some typefaces, designed to combine the question mark (?) and the exclamation point (!), indicating a mixture of query and interjection, as after a rhetorical question.
Example Sentences
  • The labs themselves are dealing more with the illusive future than the illustrious past, though.
  • Plenty of dumb companies promise more than they can deliver and sell their souls chasing the illusive big payoff that never comes.
  • Thus, time and space is both traversed instantaneously as the illusive tachyon particle.
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Collins
World English Dictionary
illusory or illusive (ɪˈluːsərɪ, ɪˈluːsɪv)
 
adj
producing, produced by, or based on illusion; deceptive or unreal
 
usage  Illusive is sometimes wrongly used where elusive is meant: they fought hard, but victory remained elusive (not illusive)
 
illusive or illusive
 
adj
 
usage  Illusive is sometimes wrongly used where elusive is meant: they fought hard, but victory remained elusive (not illusive)
 
il'lusorily or illusive
 
adv
 
il'lusively or illusive
 
adv
 
il'lusoriness or illusive
 
n
 
il'lusiveness or illusive
 
n

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History

illusive
formed in English 1670s, from stem of illusion + -ive; cf. also illusory.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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