elude

[ih-lood] /ɪˈlud/
verb (used with object), eluded, eluding.
1.
to avoid or escape by speed, cleverness, trickery, etc.; evade:
to elude capture.
Synonyms: shun, dodge.
2.
to escape the understanding, perception, or appreciation of:
The answer eludes me.
Origin
1530-40; < Latin ēlūdere to deceive, evade, equivalent to ē- e-1 + lūdere to play, deceive
Related forms
eluder, noun
uneluded, adjective
Can be confused
allowed, allude, aloud, elude.
Synonym Study
1. See escape.
Examples from the web for elude
  • With luck and quick maneuvering he was able to elude them, but just barely.
  • Crime prevention seems to elude even the most advanced countries.
  • These areas release chemicals that are essential to elude danger but are also destructive to rational thought.
  • There is so much more, to discover and understand, so many possibilities that elude us.
  • They elude the ordinary reader by their abstraction and delicacy of distinction, but they are far from vague.
  • Rather, their instinctual intelligence offers lessons that elude our own thinking.
  • The mysteries of space will continue to elude us for quite some time until the majority of us are committed to exploring it.
  • Some migrants, however, still use methods that elude the bean counters.
  • Memory researchers suggest additional reasons that great jokes may elude common capture.
  • Flat growths that elude colonoscopy may account for many cancers.
British Dictionary definitions for elude

elude

/ɪˈluːd/
verb (transitive)
1.
to escape or avoid (capture, one's pursuers, etc), esp by cunning
2.
to avoid fulfilment of (a responsibility, obligation, etc); evade
3.
to escape discovery, or understanding by; baffle: the solution eluded her
Derived Forms
eluder, noun
elusion (ɪˈluːʒən) noun
Usage note
Elude is sometimes wrongly used where allude is meant: he was alluding (not eluding) to his previous visit to the city
Word Origin
C16: from Latin ēlūdere to deceive, from lūdere to play
Word Origin and History for elude
v.

1530s, "delude, make a fool of," from Latin eludere "escape from, make a fool of, win from at play," from ex- "out, away" (see ex-) + ludere "to play" (see ludicrous). Sense of "evade" is first recorded 1610s in a figurative sense, 1630s in a literal one. Related: Eluded; eludes; eluding.