elusory
Hard to grasp
Elusory means tending to elude or escape, especially in a way that deceives or baffles.
The word is a rare variant of elusive, carrying the same sense of something hard to grasp, pin down, or capture: an elusory memory that slipped away whenever she tried to focus on it.
It appears mostly in older or literary texts.
Delicate beyond earthly measure
- immaterialLacking physical form; unimportant
- insubstantialLacking physical or material substance
- incorporealNot made of matter
- gossamerFilmy, delicate material
wispy · dreamlike · spectral · phantasmal · unreal · chimerical · wraithlike · nebulous
Lasting very briefly
- transientTemporary, soon departing
- momentaryLasting very briefly
- evanescentTending to vanish quickly
- fleetingPassing very quickly
fugitive · passing · vanishing · fading · slipping · quicksilver · mercurial · will-o-wisp
Puzzling and obscure
- crypticObscure in meaning
- inscrutableImpossible to understand
- veiledConcealed or obscured
- hiddenKept out of sight
unknowable · esoteric · shadowy · concealed · sphinxlike · impenetrable · unfathomable · obscured
Misleading sensory impression
- misleadingCausing false beliefs
- deceitfulInclined to mislead others
- trickeryDeliberate deception or fraud
- fraudulentInvolving intentional dishonesty
hoax · sham · feint · pretense · subterfuge · duplicitous · guile · sleight
ethereal
Delicate beyond earthly measure
- immaterialLacking physical form; unimportant
- insubstantialLacking physical or material substance
- incorporealNot made of matter
gossamer · wispy · dreamlike · spectral · phantasmal · unreal · chimerical · wraithlike · nebulous · diaphanous
ephemeral
Lasting very briefly
- transientTemporary, soon departing
- momentaryLasting very briefly
- evanescentTending to vanish quickly
fleeting · fugitive · passing · vanishing · fading · slipping · quicksilver · mercurial · will-o-wisp · uncatchable
enigmatic
Puzzling and obscure
- crypticObscure in meaning
- inscrutableImpossible to understand
- veiledConcealed or obscured
hidden · unknowable · esoteric · shadowy · concealed · sphinxlike · impenetrable · unfathomable · obscured · tantalizingly
illusion
Misleading sensory impression
- misleadingCausing false beliefs
- deceitfulInclined to mislead others
- trickeryDeliberate deception or fraud
fraudulent · hoax · sham · feint · pretense · subterfuge · duplicitous · guile · sleight · chicanery
elusoryobvious
Easily perceived, unmistakable
plain · clear · evident · manifest · unequivocal
elusoryreal
Truly existing, not fake
true · genuine · solid · substantial · concrete
elusoryconfronting
Addressing directly
encountering · catchable · accessible · attainable · graspable
elusive, elude, preclude, elusion, eluding, eluded, eludes, precluded, occlusion