How to Use illusive in a Sentence

illusive

adjective
  • Once night falls, keep your eyes peeled for illusive ghost crabs.
    — Tara Massouleh McCay, Southern Living, 21 June 2026
  • Safety and freedom are illusive in the land of the free, no matter how fast or far that train goes.
    — Los Angeles Times, 26 May 2021
  • The illusive present is difficult to grasp.
    — Doris Bittar, San Diego Union-Tribune, 7 Apr. 2026
  • Horror comedy is an illusive brand of humor, lots of hits and a ton of misses.
    — Andy Hoglund, EW.com, 29 Oct. 2023
  • There are 6 colored light switches, and each one offers an illusive home upgrade.
    — Alyssa Fiorentino, House Beautiful, 27 July 2018
  • Her story isn’t only about race but also about gender, class, and the illusive nature of the American Dream.
    — Glory Edim august 27, Literary Hub, 27 Aug. 2025
  • African American gestures can be quiet and illusive, or vibrant and confident.
    — Maya Phillips, The New Yorker, 24 Oct. 2019
  • In Church, several pews full of people are cropped into an oblique image that captures a moment in time, seizing an illusive memory.
    — John Zotos, Dallas News, 4 Nov. 2020
  • Misdirected faith and beliefs can be illusive and sometimes dangerous.
    — Los Angeles Times, 4 Mar. 2023
  • The rules between right and wrong were always morphing, intentionally illusive.
    — Issac J. Bailey, Time, 26 Apr. 2018
  • The paper also goes by @polkfishwrap on Facebook, but any mention of the history or etymology behind this name remains illusive.
    — Southern Living, 7 Aug. 2017
  • For now though the illusive fast radio burst will continue to be a source of intrigue for astronomers and cosmologists who will continue waiting to find the answers of what lies between us and everything else.
    — Shannon Stirone, Discover Magazine, 17 Nov. 2016
  • The month wraps up with a very special cosmic event, as illusive and intuitive Neptune will leave your sign for the first time in nearly 15 years, ingressing into fiery Aries.
    — Nina Kahn, StyleCaster, 24 Feb. 2025
  • But Noihsaf is the illusive, Golidlocks-just right amalgamation of selective and delightful.
    — Erika Veurink, Vogue, 15 July 2022
  • Howl, an illusive magic-user, takes over the cooking from Sophie, placing bacon in the pan and feeding egg shells to Calcifer, who happily munches away on the detritus.
    — Eliana Dockterman, TIME, 21 Dec. 2024
  • The care the wizard takes in cooking the simple breakfast, even making sure the fire is literally fed, instantly softens Sophie and the audience to the illusive character.
    — Eliana Dockterman, TIME, 21 Dec. 2024
  • There is nothing wrong with wanting to be in communication or to lurk on their pages — especially when Venus retrograde links up with illusive Neptune on March 27th.
    — Lisa Stardust, refinery29.com, 27 Feb. 2025
  • Along with always prepping the skin before makeup application, Erika also relies on one pretty genius process for finding the seemingly illusive perfect foundation match.
    — Lauren Rearick, Teen Vogue, 19 Sep. 2018
  • Dreamy, illusive, and sentimental Neptune will be retrograde in Pisces from June 30 to December 6.
    — Lisa Stardust, refinery29.com, 4 Jan. 2023
  • Years of investment manias and financial machinations that powered the job market have lost potency, exposing longstanding downsides of trade that had previously been masked by illusive prosperity.
    — Peter S. Goodman, New York Times, 28 Sep. 2016
  • Equatorial‘s goal, along with others empowered by this emergence, is to cultivate partnerships and foster the untapped Black consumer base, which many agree is due to coffee’s illusive history and lack of marketing and diversity in the space.
    — Danielle Bernabe, Fortune, 28 Mar. 2021
  • The California native was also furious that the online profile was listed close by, given his entirely virtual relationship with the illusive Carmella.
    — Henry Chandonnet, Peoplemag, 3 July 2023
  • Greg McCown, a 42-year-old real estate salesperson, has been trying for seven whole years to photograph an incredibly illusive happenstance—lightning and rainbow in the same picture.
    — Sasha Henriques, Woman's Day, 12 Aug. 2015
  • Unfortunately, teleoperation can be cumbersome, and full autonomy is often illusive.
    — Erico Guizzo, IEEE Spectrum, 22 Mar. 2023

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'illusive.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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