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
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Popular LLMs lean left, and as the technology reaches more classrooms, companies, regulators, and legislators will be tempted to entrench that bias.—
Jonah Davids,
Washington Post,
3 Feb. 2026
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Lies feeling personally victimized yet weirdly tempted to rewatch the mess all over again!—
Valerie Mesa,
PEOPLE,
3 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Marketing for top sportsbooks floods the airwaves and casts a giant net for customers that critics say has lured high schoolers, college kids, as well as those legally allowed to bet.—
Nick Penzenstadler,
USA Today,
13 Feb. 2026
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Party activists have said many grassroots Republicans lost money, while others were lured by ads on shows hosted by conservatives including Erick Erickson, Hugh Hewitt and Charlie Kirk.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
10 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Pine seduced Roper away from Corky [Roper’s fixer, played by Tom Hollander, who was killed off in season one].—
Max Gao,
HollywoodReporter,
3 Feb. 2026
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Since the dawn of time, the romance of railways has seduced poets, spellbound novelists, and dealt directors the perfect hand for capturing fleeting friendships, illicit affairs, and all manner of crimes and capers.—
Arati Menon,
Condé Nast Traveler,
28 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Stephanie Martin, a breakfast station cook at the Gaylord Rockies Resort and Convention Center, was persuaded to participate by Brian Reese, the resort’s sous chef and last year’s people’s choice winner.—
Miguel Otárola,
Denver Post,
6 Feb. 2026
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Authoritative, sonorous and compelling, his is the voice that persuaded millions that the Martians had landed in Grover’s Mills, New Jersey in The War of the Worlds.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
5 Feb. 2026
Verb
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While the Super Bowl ad is for Cadillac F1, Apple is poised to be just as big a beneficiary, if viewers are enticed to check it out.—
Alex Weprin,
HollywoodReporter,
6 Feb. 2026
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That was the appetizer, as a year later, in 2022, Pitaro enticed Joe Buck and Troy Aikman from Fox — arguably the top NFL combo on air — on a pair of five-year deals for $75 million and $90 million, respectively.—
Andrew Marchand,
New York Times,
2 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Decoyed.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/decoyed. Accessed 15 Feb. 2026.
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