MEANING
To refer to something indirectly without identifying or discussing it fully.
Use it for
Words that belong together
- allude to an event
- allude to a passage
On the page
He alluded to the accident only after the visitors had gone.
The inscription alluded to a poem she had not yet read.
Nearby words
Related words
Word forms
- Base
- allude
- Past tense
- alluded
- Past participle
- alluded
- Present participle
- alluding
Full tense & aspect guide
- Present
- allude
- Present continuous
- am/is/are alluding
- Present perfect
- have/has alluded
- Present perfect continuous
- have/has been alluding
- Past
- alluded
- Past continuous
- was/were alluding
- Past perfect
- had alluded
- Past perfect continuous
- had been alluding
- Future
- will allude
- Future continuous
- will be alluding
- Future perfect
- will have alluded
- Future perfect continuous
- will have been alluding
Choose the auxiliary that agrees with your subject. These are constructions of one word, not separate entries.
Usage notes
Primary category: literary. Forms: allude; alludes; alluded; alluded; alluding Legacy lexical fields mirror sense 1 only. Use numbered sense fields for all meanings. Third-person singular: alludes.
Practice this word in a sentenceYour margin notes
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