Difference Between Allusive, Elusive, and Illusive

Three words that are often confused are allusive, elusive, and illusive. Allusive is a word that means “having a hidden meaning or reference to something else” while elusiveness is “the quality of being hard to understand or grasp; not easy to know” and illusiveness is “something that deceives or misleads others by being unclear”. The difference between these three words can be confusing but it doesn’t have to be! Let’s explore the definitions of each word and see how they differ so you can use them correctly in your sentences

Allusive

Allusive is a word that means “referring to something without actually mentioning it.” If you’re writing a paper on the book of Genesis, for example, and you want to explain how God created the world in seven days (a common interpretation), your professor might ask why he didn’t just create everything at once. That would be an allusive answer–you’re referring back to Genesis 1:1-2:3 but not directly quoting it or paraphrasing it in any way.

The term can also be used as an adjective: “His speech was allusive.”

Elusive

Elusive is a word that means hard to catch, or hard to understand. It’s similar to allusive, but different.

The word “elusion” has its roots in the Latin eludere (meaning “to evade”). The term first appeared in English around 1535, when it was used as a noun meaning “deception.” Today we use the word elusion more often as an adjective than as a noun; we might say something was done with great skill or precision–for example: “Her dainty steps were an example of elusion at its finest.”

Illusive

Illusive is a word that’s often confused with elusive. While both words are related, they don’t mean the same thing and can’t be used interchangeably.

Illusive means deceptive or misleading–for example: “The salesman was illusory about the quality of his product.” You can use this word to describe something that’s hard to find or understand as well, like an illusion (something that appears real but isn’t).

There are very important differences between these 3 words.

Allusive:

Allusive is a word used to describe something that refers to another meaning. An allusion can be made through words or phrases, and it’s often used in literature and poetry. For example, if you say “a lion’s roar,” this refers to another meaning–the idea of courage or strength–and it’s an allusion because it isn’t literally talking about lions roaring (that would be illusory). Elusive:

Elusive means hard to find or catch; elusive people tend not want you know where they are at any given time.

Illusory:

Illusory describes things that seem true but aren’t true at all! Many illusions rely on our perception being tricked into believing something when there is no actual object present; for example, if someone walked up behind me right now wearing an invisibility cloak and then took off the cloak before I could see them again…that would be an illusion!

We hope this article has helped you understand the differences between allusive, elusive, and illusive. If you have any questions, please leave a comment below and we will get back to you as soon as possible!