What does elusive mean?
Word: Elusive
Part of Speech: Adjective
Meaning: Elusive means difficult to find, catch, reach or remember.
How do you spell elusive?
Syllables: e - lu - sive
Tricky part: The opening is the trouble. Students who know illusion or allusion start with a double l or the wrong vowel, and write ellusive or alusive.
Watch out for: ellusive, alusive
Memory tip: Escape is what an elusive thing does best, and both words open with the same single letter.
Elusive in a sentence
Example 1: The tiger stayed elusive, and we saw only its paw prints by the stream.
Example 2: The answer to the last maths puzzle remained elusive until Kavya drew a diagram.
Example 3: Victory was elusive for our team until the final over.
Fun Fact
The snow leopard is often described as one of the most elusive big cats, and camera traps have helped scientists study it in Ladakh.
Practise the CREST Way
Word Cookie
Insert the correct pair of letters to form a word:
elu_i_e
a) z, v
b) c, v
c) s, f
d) s, v
Show answer
d) s, v. The hissing sound in the middle is a plain s, and the word closes with the ive of active.
Mingle-Mangle
Form a meaningful word from the jumbled letters:
vlsueie
a) exclusive
b) elective
c) evasive
d) elusive
Show answer
d) elusive. There is no a, x or c in the jumble, so three options fall away.
Word Cookie
Find the misspelt word in the sentence:
The shy red panda was so elusive that our guide saw it only twise on the trek.
a) twise
b) panda
c) guide
d) elusive
Show answer
a) twise. Twice is built like once, with a c for the s sound.
Spell-o-Spell
Choose the correctly spelt word:
a) seperate
b) concious
c) tommorow
d) elusive
Show answer
d) elusive. The other three should read conscious, separate and tomorrow.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. Rohan hunts for an elusive coin for his collection. What is most likely true of it?
a) It is very rarely on sale
b) It is too heavy to carry
c) It came free with a magazine
d) It is sold in every market
Show answer
a) It is very rarely on sale
2. Birdwatchers call one bird elusive. What do they mean?
a) It comes to the window to be fed
b) It sits on one branch every morning
c) It is seldom seen though people look
d) It sings loudly outside every house
Show answer
c) It is seldom seen though people look
