allure

/əˈlʊr/

/æˈljʊə/

Other forms: alluring; allured; allures

Something that has allure is powerfully attractive and tempting. A career in Hollywood might have great allure to a teenager who loves acting.

You've probably noticed that allure contains lure, from the German word luder meaning "bait." A well-made lure is so alluring to a fish that it won't notice the hook. First used in the 15th century, this word has even landed its own fashion magazine — Allure, which tries to tempt people to buy it by putting powerfully attractive people on the cover and hoping you'll believe that if you buy it, you'll have some allure as well.

Definitions of allure

1. noun

   the power to entice or attract through personal charm
   synonyms: allurement, temptingness

   types:

   invitation

   a tempting allurement

   type of:

   attraction, attractiveness

   the quality of arousing interest; being attractive or something that attracts
2. verb

   dispose or incline or entice to
   synonyms: tempt

   type of:

   bid, invite

   ask someone in a friendly way to do something