2021-04-20
ศัพท์ น่าสับสน ชุด – A – allude & elude
แนะนำการใช้ ตามที่ส่วนใหญ่ใช้ แต่ละท้องถิ่น
ความหมาย อาจผันแปร ตาม ตำแหน่ง/หน้าที่ ในประโยค
Dictionary.com
ออกเสียง allude = uh-LOOD’
ออกเสียง elude ‘ih-LOOD’
Abused, Confused, & Misused Words by Mary Embree
Allude
= hint, intimate, suggest;
= to refer to casually;
= an indirect reference:
allude to a mutual friend
Not to be confused with:
elude = shun, dodge, escape, avoid, evade:
elude the police
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language,
Allude
Usage Note:
Unlike semantically similar verbs
that take a clause as a complement (such as suggest and hint),
allude usually requires a prepositional phrase starting with to.
Occasionallyone sees allude with a clause,
as in: The ambassador alluded that sanctions might soon be lifted.
Such constructions have a long history,
occurring in written sources as far back as the late 1500s,
but they are not established as standard usage.
In our 2015 survey, 86 percent of the Usage Panel
considered the example above unacceptable,
with 65 percent judging it completelyunacceptable.
Dictionary.com
What’s the Difference Between “Allude” vs. “Elude”?
What’s the deal with these two useful words?
With only a two-letter difference,
it can seem at first that spelling may be the only distinction between them.
But, of course,
you know us … and we wouldn’t be here talking about these two words
if there weren’t more differences between them.
So, how can we more easily tell the difference between these two?
Luckily for you, we’ve worked all that out
—including some easy tips for telling these words apart in everyday use.
What does allude mean?
The word allude is a verb that means
either “to refer casually or indirectly; make an allusion,”
or “to contain a casual or indirect reference.”
And, fun fact, it’s incredibly rare to see this word without its partner, to.
For example:
My mother always alludes to the fact that I’m behind on my grades in school;
or This new show has noticeably alluded to the protagonist’s doomed fate since the first episode.
Unsurprisingly(as most English words come from this language),
this word is recorded as early as 1525–35 a.d.
and comes from the Latin word allūdere or
“to play beside, make a playful allusion to.”
What does it mean to elude?
Elude,on the other hand, is a similar-sounding verb
that means something entirely different.
This is a verb that means
“to avoid or escape by speed, cleverness, trickery; evade.”
It is generally used with an object.
For example:
The mouse continues to elude the myriad traps that the frustrated homeowners have placed all over their house;
or That dastardly roadrunner has eluded me for the last time.
However, elude can also have a more figurative meaning,
“to escape the understanding, perception, or appreciation of,”
as in: The inspiration for my next novel eludes me at the moment;
or This whole Tamagotchi fad has surprisingly eluded our entire family.
Interestingly enough,
elude entered the lexicon at around the same time as allude,
in between 1530–40 from the Latin ēlūdere meaning“to deceive, evade.”
How to use(and pronounce) allude vs. elude
These words not only look alike, but may be pronounced similarly too.
However, there is one pronunciation tip
when using these words to remember.
- Allude has a flat A sound, like “ah”
- Elude has a hard E sound, like “ee”
Now, back to how to use them.
- When making a reference to something or someone else,
like Was your sister alluding to my weight gain just then?
… allude is your word.
- When talking about avoiding a physical, mental, or figurative grasp of something or someone,
like As new parents, a good night’s sleep has eluded them for many moons now
… elude is your term.
One more time:
Bobby often alludes to the real existence of aliens,
whereas Billy luckily eluded the aliens’ detection drone. Yikes!
Merriam-Webster Dictionary
Usage of Allude
Allude is a word with playful roots—literally.
It comes from the Latin alludere, which means "to play with,"
and shares the root of Latin ludere ("to play") with other English words,
such as ludicrous and delude.
One of the former meanings of allude was "to engage in wordplay":
this sense is now long obsolete.
Although some people thinkthat
allude must always specifically entail an indirect reference,
this is not the case;
people have been using allude in the sense of "to refer to directly"
for well over a century
(as in "The Man Without a Country," the short story by Edward Everett Hale from 1863: "He never alluded so directly to his story again...").
So, while allude maymore commonly be used in the sense
of expressing something indirectly,
it is neither uncommon nor improper
to use it to mean something more direct.
Allude need notalways be followed by the preposition to,
although that is the most common construction in modern usage.
Choose the Right Synonym for elude
ESCAPE, AVOID, EVADE, ELUDE, SHUN, ESCHEW
mean to get awayor keep away from something.
ESCAPE stresses the fact of getting away or being passed by not necessarily through effort or by conscious intent.
nothing escapes her sharp eyes
AVOID stresses forethought and caution in keeping clear of dangeror difficulty.
try to avoid past errors
EVADE implies adroitness, ingenuity, or lack of scruple in escaping or avoiding.
evaded the question by changing the subject
ELUDE impliesa slippery or baffling quality in the person orthing that escapes.
what she sees in him eludes me
SHUN often implies an avoiding as a matter of habitual practice or policyand may imply repugnance or abhorrence.
you have shunned your responsibilities
ESCHEW implies an avoiding or abstaining from as unwiseor distasteful.
a playwright who eschews melodrama
Collins English Usage
Usage:
Elude is sometimes wrongly used where allude is meant:
he was alluding (not eluding) to his previous visit to the city
Merriam-Webster Dictionary
alludevs. elude
Allude is a verb that means
"to speak of or mention somethingor someone in an indirect way,"
as in: "they alluded to difficulties at their former school."
Elude is a verb that most often means
"to avoid or escape someoneor something by being quick, skillful, or clever,"
as in: "a criminal who has eluded capture."
Merriam-Webster Dictionary
Usage Notes
'Elude'and 'Allude'
They can be tough to pin down
What to Know
Allude means to reference something indirectly.
It is usually followedby to,
as when one thing "alludes to" another.
Elude,which shares the same origin as allude,
means "to evade" or "to escape perception or understanding."
To remember,
keep in mindthat elude starts with E, just like escape and evade.
If your allusion is too hard to understand, it may elude your reader.
Allude and elude sharean etymology and a part of speech,
and sound almost identical,
yet have meaningsin modern use that are quite distinct.
Many people count these among their commonly confused words,
So, let’s a take a look at how each may be used or misused.
Usage of 'Allude'
Both are verbs, and both come in part from the Latin ludere,
meaning “to play.”
Allude is the older of the two, in use since the early 16th century;
elude dates from the middle of the 17th.
We define allude as “tohave or make indirect reference
(as in passing or by suggestion);
to refer indirectly,”
and also note that the word is sometimes used broadly
with the meaning “to refer”
(some usage guides do not care for this broadened meaning).
Allude is typically, although not always, followed by the preposition to.
Usage of 'Elude'
Whereas allude is frequently used in the sense of ‘avoiding direct mention,’
the meanings of elude are concerned with a different type of avoidance:
“to evade,” “to escape the perception, understanding, or grasp of,”
and “to resist attempts at.”
Common Errors In English Usage Dictionary
Allude & elude
You can allude (refer) to your daughter’s membership in the honor society when boasting about her,
but a criminal tries to elude(escape) captivity.
There is no such word as “illude.”
Dictionary of Problem Words in English
Allude & elude
Allude means “to refer indirectly or casually”
and is followed by to:
“He alluded to his former occupation.”
“This memo alludes to a misplaced letter.”
Elude is sometimes confused with allude
because of similarity in pronunciation and spelling
but has an entirely different meaning (“to avoid,” “to escape,”
“to slip away from,” “to dodge”):
“He eluded the pursuing policemen.”
