intrigue

See also: intrigué

English

Alternative forms

• entrigue

Etymology

Borrowed from French intrigue, from Italian intricare, from Latin intrīcō (“I entangle, perplex, embarrass”). Doublet of intricate.

Pronunciation

• (noun) enPR: ĭn'trēg, IPA^(key): /ˈɪntɹiːɡ/

  • Audio (UK)

    (file)

• (verb) enPR: ĭntrēg', IPA^(key): /ɪnˈtɹiːɡ/

  • Audio (UK)

    (file)

• Rhymes: -iːɡ

Noun

intrigue (countable and uncountable, plural intrigues)

1. A complicated or clandestine plot or scheme intended to effect some purpose by secret artifice; conspiracy; stratagem.
   • 1858–1865, Thomas Carlyle, History of Friedrich II. of Prussia, Called Frederick the Great, volume (please specify |volume=I to VI), London: Chapman and Hall, […], OCLC 156109991:

     […] 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

plot or scheme

• Arabic: دَسِيسَة‎ (ar) f (dasīsa)
• Armenian: բանսարկություն (hy) (bansarkutʿyun)
• Belarusian: інтры́га f (intrýha)
• Bulgarian: интри́га (bg) f (intríga), машина́ция (bg) f (mašinácija)
• Catalan: intriga (ca)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 密謀 (zh), 密谋 (zh) (mìmóu), 陰謀 (zh), 阴谋 (zh) (yīnmóu)

• Czech: intrika f, pleticha f
• Danish: intrige c
• Dutch: intrige (nl) f
• Estonian: intriig
• Finnish: juoni (fi), salajuoni (fi)
• French: intrigue (fr) f
• Georgian: ინტრიგა (inṭriga)
• German: Intrige (de) f
• Greek: ραδιουργία (el) f (radiourgía), μηχανορραφία (el) f (michanorrafía), δολοπλοκία (el) f (doloplokía)
• Hindi: साज़िश f (sāziś), षड्यंत्र (hi) m (ṣaḍyantra)
• Hungarian: intrika (hu), ármány (hu), áskálódás (hu), cselszövés (hu)
• Icelandic: brögð (is) n pl
• Italian: intrigo (it) m
• Japanese: 陰謀 (ja) (いんぼう, inbō)

• Korean: 음모(陰謀) (ko) (eummo)
• Latvian: intriga f
• Lithuanian: intriga f
• Macedonian: сплетка f (spletka), интрига f (intriga)
• Maori: kara
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: intrige m

• Persian: دسیسه‎ (fa) (dasise), انتریگ‎ (antrig), فتنه‎ (fa) (fetne)
• Polish: intryga (pl) f
• Portuguese: intriga (pt) f
• Romanian: intrigă (ro) f
• Russian: интри́га (ru) f (intríga)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: спле̏тка f, ѝнтрӣга f

  Roman: splȅtka (sh) f, ìntrīga (sh) f

• Slovak: intriga f
• Slovene: spletka f
• Spanish: intriga (es) f
• Swedish: intrig (sv) c
• Tagalog: pungka
• Tajik: дасиса (dasisa), фитна (fitna)
• Turkish: entrika (tr)
• Ukrainian: інтри́га f (intrýha)

the plot of a play

• Bulgarian: интри́га (bg) f (intríga)
• French: intrigue (fr) f
• Greek: πλοκή (el) f (plokí)
• Polish: fabuła (pl) f

• Russian: сюже́т (ru) m (sjužét), фа́була (ru) f (fábula)
• Spanish: argumento (es) m
• Turkish: dolantı (tr)

clandestine intercourse

• Bulgarian: та́йна любо́вна връ́зка f (tájna ljubóvna vrǎ́zka)

Verb

intrigue (third-person singular simple present intrigues, present participle intriguing, simple 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.
   • 2012 March 1, Brian Hayes, “Pixels or Perish”, in American Scientist‎^[1], volume 100, number 2, page 106:

     These pictorial devices are indispensable tools for presenting evidence, for explaining a theory, for telling a story. And, on top of all that, they are ornaments; they entice and intrigue and sometimes delight.

3. (intransitive) To have clandestine or illicit intercourse.
4. (transitive) To fill with artifice and duplicity; to complicate.
   • c. 1681, John Scott, The Christian Life from its beginning to its Consummation in Glory […]

     How doth it [sin] perplex and intrigue the whole course of your lives!

Translations

to plan

• Bulgarian: интриганствам (intriganstvam), сплетнича (bg) (spletniča)
• Catalan: intrigar (ca)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 搞陰謀, 搞阴谋 (gǎo yīnmóu), 密謀 (zh), 密谋 (zh) (mìmóu)

• Danish: intrigere
• Dutch: intrigeren (nl)
• Esperanto: intrigi
• Finnish: juonitella (fi)
• French: intriguer (fr), conspirer (fr)

• German: intrigieren (de)
• Hungarian: intrikál, ármánykodik (hu), áskálódik (hu), cselt sző
• Italian: intrigare (it)
• Maori: whakangārahu
• Portuguese: intrigar (pt)
• Russian: стро́ить ко́зни impf (stróitʹ kózni), замышля́ть (ru) impf (zamyšljátʹ), замы́слить (ru) pf (zamýslitʹ)
• Spanish: intrigar (es)
• Swedish: intrigera (sv)

to arouse interest

• Bulgarian: интригувам (bg) (intriguvam)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 引起奇心 (yǐnqǐ qíxīn)

• Dutch: intrigeren (nl)
• Finnish: kiehtoa (fi)
• French: intriguer (fr)
• German: faszinieren (de)

• Persian: شیفته کردن‎ (šifte kardan)
• Polish: intrygować (pl)
• Portuguese: intrigar (pt)
• Russian: интригова́ть (ru) impf (intrigovátʹ), заинтригова́ть (ru) pf (zaintrigovátʹ), интересова́ть (ru) impf (interesovátʹ), заинтересова́ть (ru) pf (zainteresovátʹ)
• Spanish: intrigar (es)

Related terms

• intricacy
• intricate
• intriguer
• intriguery
• intriguing
• intriguingly

References

• “intrigue” in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.
• “intrigue” in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.

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French

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɛ̃.tʁiɡ/

• Audio

  (file)

Noun

intrigue f (plural intrigues)

1. intrigue (all senses)

Verb

intrigue

1. inflection of intriguer:
   1. first/third-person singular present indicative/subjunctive
   2. second-person singular imperative

Further reading

• “intrigue”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

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Portuguese

Pronunciation

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /ĩ.ˈtɾi.ɡi/

Verb

intrigue

1. first-person singular (eu) present subjunctive of intrigar
2. third-person singular (ele and ela, also used with você and others) present subjunctive of intrigar
3. third-person singular (você) affirmative imperative of intrigar
4. third-person singular (você) negative imperative of intrigar

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Spanish

Verb

intrigue

1. Formal second-person singular (usted) imperative form of intrigar.
2. First-person singular (yo) present subjunctive form of intrigar.
3. Formal second-person singular (usted) present subjunctive form of intrigar.
4. Third-person singular (él, ella, also used with usted^?) present subjunctive form of intrigar.