elusive

From Latin elusus past participle of eludo (“to parry a blow, to deceive”)

• IPA^(key): /ɪˈluːsɪv/
• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /iˈluːsɪv/
• Homophone: illusive

elusive (comparative more elusive, superlative most elusive)

1. Evading capture, comprehension or remembrance.

   The elusive criminal was arrested

2. Difficult to make precise.

   A precise definition of diarrhea is elusive (Robbin's pathology, 8th ed)

   • 1910, Jack London, chapter 6, in Lost Face‎:

     Charley chased the elusive idea through all the nooks and crannies of his drowning consciousness.

3. Rarely seen.
   • 2002, Scott Roederer, Birding: Rocky Mountain National Park, page 93:

     While you're sniffing the trunks of the ponderosas to see if they're butterscotch, vanilla, strawberry, or the elusive chocolate variety, watch for Brown Creepers, an elusive variety of bird.

• elude

• elusively
• elusiveness

elusive

1. Feminine plural of adjective elusivo.