🧜 Beguiling: An SAT Word for Sirens and Scammers
BEGUILING most nearly means: A) enchanting; B) repulsive; C) inscrutable; D) verbose. Answer inside. 👉️
If someone or something is beguiling, it is appealing, charming, or enchanting, but often in a way that hides something. The Sirens of Greek mythology could be called beguiling, as could a slick salesperson in a popular tourist area.
Yesterday, we learned guile, which is the root of today’s word beguiling. Notice how one word can function as a building block for another word by adding some word parts (a prefix and suffix in this case). To learn more roots, I recommend Roots2Words.
📚️ Definition of Beguiling
Beguiling (adjective): Charming or enchanting, often in a way that deceives or distracts. Example: a beguiling smile.
🗣️ Pronunciation of Beguiling
IPA: /bɪˈɡaɪ.lɪŋ/ (See IPA key)
Respelling: bih-GUY-ling
📰 Examples of Beguiling
Here are some examples of the word beguiling:
Here are some examples of the word beguiling:
In Homer’s The Odyssey, Odysseus’s sailors couldn’t resist the beguiling song of the Greek sirens, female humanlike creatures who would lure ships into dangerous areas with cliffs and rocks.
The man selling shampoo containing real gold was so beguiling that my friend ended up paying $100 for a bottle. (Based on a true story!)
“Then this ebony bird beguiling my sad fancy into smiling, By the grave and stern decorum of the countenance it wore...” — Edgar Allan Poe, “The Raven” (1845)
Quiz answer: A, enchanting.