different between attract vs decoy

English

Etymology

From Latin attractus, past participle of attrahere (“to draw to, attract”), from ad (“to”) + trahere (“to draw”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /??t?ækt/
• Rhymes: -ækt

Verb

attract (third-person singular simple present attracts, present participle attracting, simple past and past participle attracted)

1. To pull toward without touching.
   • 1713, William Derham, Physico-Theology

     All bodies, and all the parts of bodies, mutually attract themselves, and one another.

2. To arouse interest.

3. To draw by moral, emotional or sexual influence; to engage or fix, as the mind, attention, etc.; to invite or allure.

Synonyms

• allure

Antonyms

• repel

Related terms

Translations

Further reading

• attract in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
• attract in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.
• attract at OneLook Dictionary Search

English

Etymology

From Dutch de +? kooi, literally "the cage". Possibly related to verb coy (which itself may have been influenced by decoy).

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /?di?k??/

Noun

decoy (plural decoys)

1. A person or object meant to lure somebody into danger.
2. A real or fake animal used by hunters to lure game.

Translations

Verb

decoy (third-person singular simple present decoys, present participle decoying, simple past and past participle decoyed)

1. (transitive) To lead into danger by artifice; to lure into a net or snare; to entrap.

   to decoy troops into an ambush; to decoy ducks into a net

   • 1770, Oliver Goldsmith, The Deserted Village

     E'en while fashion's brightest arts decoy, / The heart, distrusting, asks if this be joy.

2. (intransitive) To act as, or use, a decoy. (Can we add an example for this sense?)

Derived terms

• deke

Translations

Anagrams

• coyed