Definition of "beguile" []

• To deceive by guile; delude. See Synonyms at deceive. (verb-transitive)
• To take away from by or as if by guile; cheat: a disease that has beguiled me of strength. (verb-transitive)
• To distract the attention of; divert: "to beguile you from the grief of a loss so overwhelming” ( Abraham Lincoln). (verb-transitive)
• To pass (time) pleasantly. (verb-transitive)
• To amuse or charm; delight. See Synonyms at charm. (verb-transitive)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "Princess! they are simple, and such as beguile tentmen and tentwomen shut in by the desert, their fancies tender as children's."
• "By strong delusion; such as beguile the soul with damnable doctrines, that swerve from faith and godliness, 'They have chosen their own ways,' saith God, 'and their soul delighteth in their abominations."
• "One of the tasks I saw was a spelling contest where the participants misspelt everything: faux pas became 'fohpa,' cyst became 'sest,' beguile 'begyal' and so on."