intrigue
Pronunciation
  • (noun) enPR: ĭn'trēg, IPA: /ˈɪntɹiːɡ/
  • (verb) enPR: ĭntrēg', IPA: /ɪnˈtɹiːɡ/
Noun

intrigue

  1. A complicated or clandestine plot or scheme intended to effect some purpose by secret artifice; conspiracy; stratagem.
    • […] lost in such a jungle of intrigues, pettifoggings, treacheries, diplomacies domestic and foreign […]
  2. The plot of a play, poem or romance; the series of complications in which a writer involves their imaginary characters.
  3. Clandestine intercourse between persons; illicit intimacy; a liaison or affair.
    • 1976, John Harold Wilson, Court Satires of the Restoration (page 245)
      In 1679 and 1680 there were persistent rumors of an intrigue between Mary, Lady Grey, and the Duke of Monmouth.
Translations Translations Verb

intrigue (intrigues, present participle intriguing; past and past participle intrigued)

  1. (intransitive) To conceive or carry out a secret plan intended to harm; to form a plot or scheme.
  2. (transitive) To arouse the interest of; to fascinate.
  3. (intransitive) To have clandestine or illicit intercourse.
  4. (transitive) To fill with artifice and duplicity; to complicate.
    • How doth it [sin] perplex and intrigue the whole course of your lives!
Translations Translations Related terms


This text is extracted from the Wiktionary and it is available under the CC BY-SA 3.0 license | Terms and conditions | Privacy policy 0.022
Offline English dictionary