seduce

Borrowed from Latin sēdūcō (“to lead apart or astray”), from sē- (“aside, away, astray”) + dūcō (“to lead”); see duct. Compare adduce, conduce, deduce, etc. and Middle English seduct.

• (UK, Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /sɪˈdjuːs/

• Audio (UK):

  (file)

• (US, General American) IPA^(key): /sɪˈd(j)uːs/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -uːs

seduce (third-person singular simple present seduces, present participle seducing, simple past and past participle seduced)

1. (transitive) To beguile or lure (someone) away from duty, accepted principles, or proper conduct; to lead astray. [1520s^[1]]

   Synonyms: corrupt, lead astray, misguide, bribe; see also Thesaurus:pervert

   • 1726 October 28, [Jonathan Swift], “The Author’s Oeconomy and Happy Life among the Houyhnhnms. […]”, in Travels into Several Remote Nations of the World. […] [Gulliver’s Travels], volume II, London: […] Benj[amin] Motte, […], →OCLC, part IV (A Voyage to the Houyhnhnms), page 308:

     […] they alledged, That becauſe I had ſome Rudiments of Reaſon, added to the natural pravity of thoſe Animals, it was to be feared, I might be able to ſeduce them into the woody and mountainous parts of the Country, and bring them in Troops by night to deſtroy the Houyhnhnms Cattle, as being naturally of the ravenous kind, and averſe from Labour.

   • 1965, Attila Zohar, Kings Cross Black Magic, Sydney: Horwitz Publications, page 30:

     As a parish priest in England he had dabbled in the black arts, seduced a number of his congregation from their faith and finally celebrated the Black Mass.

   • 1983, Lawrence Kasdan, George Lucas, Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi:

     Your father was seduced by the dark side of The Force.

2. (transitive) To entice or induce (someone) to engage in a sexual relationship. [1550s^[1]]

   Synonyms: debauch, forlead, pick up, vamp

   • 1967, Calder Willingham, Buck Henry, The Graduate:

     "Mrs. Robinson, are you trying to seduce me?"
     "Do you want me to seduce you?"

3. (by extension, transitive, euphemistic) To have sexual intercourse with.

   Synonyms: coitize, go to bed with, sleep with; see also Thesaurus:copulate with

   He had repeatedly seduced the girl in his car, hotels and his home.

4. (transitive) To win over or attract.

   Synonyms: beguile, entrance, pull in; see also Thesaurus:allure

   He was seduced by the bright lights and glamour of the city.

• seduction
• seductive
• seducement
• seducer
• seductress

• “seduce”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
• William Dwight Whitney, Benjamin E[li] Smith, editors (1911), “seduce”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., →OCLC.

• deuces, educes

seduce

1. inflection of seducir:
   1. third-person singular present indicative
   2. second-person singular imperative

seduce

1. third-person singular present indicative of sedurre

sēdūce

1. second-person singular present active imperative of sēdūcō

Borrowed from Latin sēdūcēre, French séduire.

• IPA^(key): [seˈdutʃe]

a seduce (third-person singular present seduce, past participle sedus, third-person subjunctive seducă) 3rd conjugation

1. (transitive) to seduce

• seducător
• seducere
• sedus

seduce

1. inflection of seducir:
   1. third-person singular present indicative
   2. second-person singular imperative