How to Use elusive in a Sentence

elusive

adjective
  • The truth may prove elusive.
  • And a win proved to be elusive.
    — Mike Cook, Twin Cities, 10 May 2026
  • The wins have been elusive for two weeks.
    — Jeff Sanders, San Diego Union-Tribune, 7 June 2026
  • But the proof has been elusive.
    — Shane Harris, The Atlantic, 14 May 2026
  • But meet-cutes had been elusive.
    — Dan Greene, New Yorker, 26 Jan. 2026
  • But state-wide bans have proved more elusive.
    — N'dea Yancey-Bragg, USA Today, 4 June 2026
  • The loaf is elusive, and my feet are tired.
    — Sherah Bloor, The New York Review of Books, 4 Sep. 2025
  • Long days end late and leave cooks so wired that sleep is elusive.
    — Liz Biro, Indianapolis Star, 23 Mar. 2020
  • The elusive Prince was a guest.
    — Rick Kogan, Chicago Tribune, 29 Apr. 2026
  • Still elusive is the build of lower body.
    — K. R. Callaway, Scientific American, 23 Jan. 2026
  • Most of the time public land toms will be sneaky and elusive.
    — Alex Robinson, Outdoor Life, 16 Apr. 2026
  • That last smoke proved elusive, but not for want of trying.
    — Elizabeth Cooney, STAT, 8 June 2026
  • But that goal may prove elusive for some agencies.
    — William Melhado, Sacbee.com, 9 June 2026
  • Now, one of the area’s most elusive retreats is for sale.
    — David Caraccio, Sacbee.com, 1 June 2026
  • Even at the low end of that range, that target has been elusive.
    — Karen Kaplan Science and Medicine Editor, Los Angeles Times, 12 Nov. 2021
  • But for her, closure has been elusive.
    — Miami Herald Archives, Miami Herald, 20 May 2026
  • The stakes are so high, and the best talent is so elusive right now.
    — Andrea Davey, Forbes, 21 June 2022
  • Yet, one prize — the grandest of them all — has been elusive.
    — Jim Reineking, USA TODAY, 22 Nov. 2022
  • And the elusive quest to ride a 100-foot wave is still on.
    — Julia Prodis Sulek, Mercury News, 14 Sep. 2025
  • Their targets are some of the most elusive people in the world.
    — Danny Makki, New York Times, 16 Oct. 2025
  • But all-around good days remain elusive for these Tigers.
    — Cody Stavenhagen, New York Times, 28 May 2026
  • An accurate sense of when to seek the ball is more elusive.
    — Bennett Durando, Denver Post, 15 Oct. 2025
  • My father had been a deeply private and elusive man.
    — Literary Hub, 16 Oct. 2025
  • But even in the best of times, making ends meet was often elusive.
    — Shauna Stuart | [email protected], al, 4 May 2020
  • One of the missing puzzle pieces is where the elusive sharks breed.
    — Bill Kearney, Sun Sentinel, 22 Jan. 2026
  • The drone gave the search team an edge, but Chesney proved elusive.
    — Samantha Agate, Miami Herald, 14 Apr. 2026
  • This is the most elusive, and also the smallest, of the five.
    — Liz Langley, National Geographic, 26 July 2019
  • In sum, Donovan has proven to be as elusive off the field as on it.
    — Brian Straus, SI.com, 13 Jan. 2018
  • But the bull was elusive, and Skeet was still trying to snag it.
    — Mitch Moxley, Rolling Stone, 27 Sep. 2025
  • Also, where the elusive deal with Iran stands.
    — NPR, 4 June 2026

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

Last Updated: