eluder
One who escapes
An eluder is someone or something that evades or escapes capture, detection, or understanding.
The word appears most often in contexts involving pursuit—whether physical or metaphorical: The eluder led police on a chase through three counties.
Sleep can be an eluder, as can success or any goal that remains persistently out of reach.
Escape by cunning
- dodgeAvoid by quick movement
- circumventAvoid by going around
- sidestepEvade by moving aside
- bypassRoute that skirts obstacles
escape · shun · eschew · duck · skirt · avert · deflect · parry
Cleverly deceptive
- cunningSly, scheming cleverness
- wilySkilled at deception
- slyCleverly deceptive
- artfulCleverly deceptive
shrewd · clever · foxy · slick · calculating · scheming · devious · conniving
Lacking friction, hard-to-grasp
- uncatchableCannot be seized
- untraceableImpossible to follow back
- enigmaticPuzzling and obscure
- fleetingPassing very quickly
ephemeral · intangible · evasive · mercurial · will-o-the-wisp · quicksilver · fugitive · phantom
Deliberate act of deception
- feintDeceptive mock attack
- decoyFalse target for misdirection
- diversionRedirection of attention
- misdirectionIntentional focus manipulation
ploy · stratagem · trick · scheme · bluff · smokescreen · red herring · false trail
evade
Escape by cunning
- dodgeAvoid by quick movement
- circumventAvoid by going around
- sidestepEvade by moving aside
bypass · escape · shun · eschew · duck · skirt · avert · deflect · parry · outmaneuver
crafty
Cleverly deceptive
artful · shrewd · clever · foxy · slick · calculating · scheming · devious · conniving · manipulative
slippery
Lacking friction, hard-to-grasp
- uncatchableCannot be seized
- untraceableImpossible to follow back
- enigmaticPuzzling and obscure
fleeting · ephemeral · intangible · evasive · mercurial · will-o-the-wisp · quicksilver · fugitive · phantom · shadowy
ruse
Deliberate act of deception
misdirection · ploy · stratagem · trick · scheme · bluff · smokescreen · red herring · false trail · disguise
sneak
Move with stealth
ghost · infiltrate · creep · slink · tiptoe · covert · furtive · clandestine · incognito · undetected