Hard to find, catch, or understand. It can describe physical things, like animals, or abstract things, like ideas or answers.
From Latin 'elusivus' meaning 'tending to elude,' from 'eludere' (to escape from, avoid), from 'e-' (out) + 'ludere' (to play). The original sense was like 'playing away' or dodging. English kept the idea of something always slipping out of your grasp.
The root of 'elusive' is about 'playing'—as if the thing you want is teasing you in a game of hide-and-seek. That’s why we talk about an 'elusive feeling' or an 'elusive goal': your mind keeps reaching, and the target keeps dancing away. The word carries a built-in sense of frustration and chase.
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