- A secret or underhand scheme; a plot.
- The practice of or involvement in such schemes.
- A clandestine love affair.
v., -trigued, -trigu·ing, -trigues. (ĭn-trēgPRIMARY_STRESS) v.intr.
To engage in secret or underhand schemes; plot.
v.tr.- To effect by secret scheming or plotting.
- To arouse the interest or curiosity of: Hibernation has long intrigued biologists.
[From French intriguer, to plot, from Italian intrigare, to plot, from Latin intrīcāre, to entangle. See intricate.]
intriguer in·trigu'er n.intriguingly in'trigu'ing·ly adv.
USAGE NOTE The introduction of the verb intrigue to mean "to arouse the interest or curiosity of" was initially resisted by writers on usage as an unneeded French substitute for available English words such as interest, fascinate, or puzzle, but it now appears to be well established. Seventy-eight percent of the Usage Panel accepts it in the sentence The special-quota idea intrigues some legislators, who have asked a Washington think tank to evaluate it, whereas only 52 percent accepted it in a 1968 survey.
