Elude

To skillfully or cleverly escape from or avoid (a danger, enemy, pursuer, or trap), typically by being quick, ingenious, or evasive. It can also refer to the act of failing to be understood or grasped by the mind, or to escape the comprehension of someone. The term suggests an act of slipping away or remaining out of reach, either physically or mentally. The success of eluding something or someone often relies on being swift, astute, and unpredictable. Furthermore, elude can imply frustrating efforts to be comprehended or remembered; it suggests a frustrating inability to grasp or understand something clearly.

Elude meaning with examples

• The cunning fox, with its superior knowledge of the forest, skillfully eluded the relentless hounds, disappearing into a dense thicket of trees and shrubbery before they could catch up. His ability to blend with the foliage and use the terrain to his advantage was remarkable, allowing him to disappear from their chase.
• Despite the detective's best efforts to gather evidence and find the criminal, the suspect consistently eluded capture by cleverly covering his tracks and operating in secrecy. Every lead vanished, making it hard for the officers to prove the crime or make an arrest.
• The meaning of the poem, a complex and multi-layered piece, seemed to elude even the most seasoned literary scholars; despite numerous interpretations, the true essence of the author’s intent remained just beyond grasp. No matter how many times the poem was read, its full message eluded discovery.
• For years, scientists tried to completely cure the disease, only to find the new medicine's properties elude complete understanding; the complexities of its biological pathways and the ever-changing nature of the virus made a cure out of reach. There were many promising solutions, yet nothing that fully stopped the illness.