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:

     […] 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.

Derived terms

• palace intrigue

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／密谋 (zh) (mìmóu), 陰謀／阴谋 (zh) (yīnmóu)

• Czech: intrika f, pleticha f
• Danish: intrige c
• Dutch: intrige (nl) f
• Esperanto: intrigo
• 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: спле́тка f (splétka), и́нтрига f (íntriga)
• 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)
• Catalan: intriga (ca) f
• French: intrigue (fr) f
• Greek: πλοκή (el) f (plokí)
• Macedonian: сиже́ n (sižé), фа́була f (fábula)
• 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, 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.
   • 1533 (date written)​, Thomas More, “The Debellacyon of Salem and Bizance […]. Chapter XVIJ.”, in Wyllyam Rastell [i.e., William Rastell], editor, The Workes of Sir Thomas More Knyght, […], London: […] Iohn Cawod, Iohn Waly, and Richarde Tottell, published April 1557, →OCLC, page 1004, column 2:

     And as wililye as thoſe ſhrewes that beguyle hym haue holpe hym to inuolue and intryke the matter: I ſhall vſe ſo playn and open a way therin, that euery man ſhall well ſee the trouth.

   • 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／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)
• Macedonian: у́мисли (úmisli), кро́и (krói), проекти́ра (proektíra)
• 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)
• Macedonian: интереси́ра impf (interesíra), заинтереси́ра pf (zainteresíra), интриги́ра impf (intrigíra), заинтриги́ра pf (zaintrigíra), ко́пка impf (kópka), за́копка pf (zákopka)
• 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, →OCLC.
• “intrigue”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.

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.

Portuguese

Pronunciation

 

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /ĩˈtɾi.ɡi/

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /ĩˈtɾi.ɡi/
  • (Southern Brazil) IPA^(key): /ĩˈtɾi.ɡe/

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /ĩˈtɾi.ɡ(ɨ)/ [ĩˈtɾi.ɣ(ɨ)]

Verb

intrigue

1. inflection of intrigar:
   1. first/third-person singular present subjunctive
   2. third-person singular imperative

Spanish

Verb

intrigue

1. inflection of intrigar:
   1. first/third-person singular present subjunctive
   2. third-person singular imperative