in·trigue

[v. in-treeg; n. in-treeg, in-treeg] verb, in·trigued, in·tri·guing, noun
verb (used with object)
1.
to arouse the curiosity or interest of by unusual, new, or otherwise fascinating or compelling qualities; appeal strongly to; captivate: The plan intrigues me, but I wonder if it will work.
2.
to achieve or earn by appealing to another's curiosity, fancy, or interest: to intrigue one's way into another's notice.
3.
to draw or capture: Her interest was intrigued by the strange symbol.
4.
to accomplish or force by crafty plotting or underhand machinations.
5.
Obsolete. to entangle.
6.
Obsolete. to trick or cheat.
verb (used without object)
7.
to plot craftily or underhandedly.
8.
to carry on a secret or illicit love affair.
00:10
Intriguing is always a great word to know.
So is zedonk. Does it mean:
a scrap or morsel of food left at a meal.
the offspring of a zebra and a donkey.
noun
9.
the use of underhand machinations or deceitful stratagems.
10.
such a machination or stratagem or a series of them; a plot or crafty dealing: political intrigues.
11.
a secret or illicit love affair.
12.
the series of complications forming the plot of a play.

Origin:
1640–50; < French intriguer < Italian intrigare < Latin intrīcāre to entangle; see intricate

in·tri·guer, noun
in·tri·guing·ly, adverb
out·in·trigue, verb (used with object), out·in·trigued, out·in·tri·guing.
un·in·trigued, adjective
un·in·tri·guing, adjective


1. interest, attract, fascinate. 7. manipulate. 9, 10. manipulation. 10. See conspiracy.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
Cite This Source Link To intriguing
Collins
World English Dictionary
intrigue
 
vb (often foll by with) , -trigues, -triguing, -trigued
1.  (tr) to make interested or curious: I'm intrigued by this case, Watson
2.  (intr) to make secret plots or employ underhand methods; conspire
3.  to carry on a clandestine love affair
 
n
4.  the act or an instance of secret plotting, etc
5.  a clandestine love affair
6.  the quality of arousing interest or curiosity; beguilement
 
[C17: from French intriguer, from Italian intrigare, from Latin intrīcāre; see intricate]
 
in'triguer
 
n

intriguing (ɪnˈtriːɡɪŋ) [Click for IPA pronunciation guide]
 
adj
arousing great interest or curiosity: an intriguing mystery
 
intriguingly
 
adv

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

intrigue
1610s, "to trick, deceive, cheat," from Fr. intriguer, from It. intrigare "to plot, meddle," from L. intricare "entangle" (see intricate). Meaning "to plot or scheme" first recorded 1714; that of "to excite curiosity" is from 1894. The noun is from 1640s.

intriguing
1680s, "plotting, scheming," from intrigue. Meaning "exciting curiosity" is from 1909.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Cite This Source
Example sentences
Ask students to choose a few flags that seem particularly interesting and to
  explain what they find intriguing about those flags.
One intriguing tool for either identifying outbreaks or alerting customers to
  recalls is grocery store customer loyalty cards.
Venture into ancient dwellings, storehouses, and cemeteries as you investigate
  the mysteries of this intriguing site.
One of its more intriguing findings is that after shrinking for decades,
  households have started to grow.
Copyright © 2013 Dictionary.com, LLC. All rights reserved.
  • Please Login or Sign Up to use the Recent Searches feature
FAVORITES
RECENT