Dictionary entry

Beguile

Webster's Dictionary 1913

Be‐guile″ (�), v. t. [imp. & p. p.Beguiled (�); p. pr. & vb. n.Beguiling.] 1. To delude by guile, artifice, or craft; to deceive or impose on, as by a false statement; to lure.

The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat.

Gen. iii. 13.

2. To elude, or evade by craft; to foil.

When misery could beguile the tyrant's rage.

Shak.

3. To cause the time of to pass without notice; to relieve the tedium or weariness of; to while away; to divert.

Ballads... to beguile his incessant wayfaring.

W. Irving.

Syn. — To delude; deceive; cheat; insnare; mislead; amuse; divert; entertain.