elusive
adjective/ɪˈluːsɪv/
/ɪˈluːsɪv/
- difficult to find, define or achieve
- Eric, as elusive as ever, was nowhere to be found.
- the elusive concept of ‘literature’
- A solution to the problem of toxic waste is proving elusive.
Extra ExamplesTopics Difficulty and failurec1- Further movie roles have proved somewhat elusive for the young actor.
- He was searching for the ever elusive ‘perfect job’.
- Sleep was strangely elusive.
- The murderer remained frustratingly elusive.
- Truth is a notoriously elusive quality.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryverbs- be
- prove
- become
- …
- extremely
- fairly
- very
- …
Word Originearly 18th cent.: from Latin elus- ‘eluded’ (from the verb eludere) + -ive.
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elusive