elusive.

Hard to find, obtain, capture, or describe precisely.

Use it for

Words that belong together

• elusive answer
• elusive figure

On the page

The explanation remained elusive despite the new records.

Usage notes

Primary category: literary / elevated general. Forms: Comparative more elusive; superlative most elusive when comparison is meaningful. Legacy lexical fields mirror sense 1 only. Use numbered sense fields for all meanings. Established modern English lexical item. No separate regional spelling or grammatical inflection entry. Writing functions: character, description. Commonness: moderately common.