as in tempted
to lead away from a usual or proper course by offering some pleasure or advantage
tacky souvenir shops to which first-time tourists had been decoyed into spending their hard-earned money
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Recent Examples of decoyed
Dowdle busted loose for a first down with 40 seconds to play after Young decoyed putting him in pass protection, and those 19 yards put the Panthers in position to kick a field goal after they’d won the coin flip and maneuvered to get the wind at the end.
—
Luke Decock, Charlotte Observer, 2 Nov. 2025
Luke Decock, Charlotte Observer, 2 Nov. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for decoyed
Verb
-
You’d have been tempted to say it was meant to be.—
Phil Hay,
New York Times,
27 Apr. 2026
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Alternatively, you may be tempted to toss items that could have some monetary value.—
Patricia Shannon,
Better Homes & Gardens,
24 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Executives from Salesforce, Snowflake, and Datadog have been poached recently by OpenAI and Anthropic, lured by large compensation packages and the opportunity to bring existing corporate relationships to these AI companies, according to multiple sources.—
Seema Mody,Kate Rooney,
CNBC,
25 Apr. 2026
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Last week, the prosecution showed the jurors chilling video and audio evidence that included Athena’s last moments after Horner lured her inside the FedEx van.—
Harriet Ramos,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
24 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Every summer, stylish crowds congregate along France’s southeastern shores, seduced by the glamorous promise of the French Riviera, spending their days sipping overpriced cocktails at the high-end resorts that line its sandy beaches as if plucked straight from a Slim Aarons photo.—
Monica Mendal,
Vogue,
24 Apr. 2026
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Inside, a fuzzy white possum, seduced by cat food, sits, befuddled.—
Bill Kearney,
Sun Sentinel,
19 Apr. 2026
Verb
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The inexpensive studio space and the innovative community being formed by his gallery, Library Street Collective, persuaded him to stay.—
Julie Belcove,
Robb Report,
25 Apr. 2026
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In the end, county officials were persuaded to act.—
Anna Clark,
ProPublica,
24 Apr. 2026
Verb
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It was billed as a conference of all opposition parties but media reports suggested that Obi, who remains popular with young voters and in the southeast, could be enticed out of the pact to run on a distinct platform.—
Alexander Onukwue,
semafor.com,
27 Apr. 2026
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California’s fertile farm fields once enticed thousands of Dust Bowl refugees fleeing along Route 66 during the Great Depression.—
Jonathan Bullington,
Chicago Tribune,
26 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Decoyed.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/decoyed. Accessed 2 May. 2026.
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