Seduce Someone Into Doing vs. Seduce Someone To Do
Cambridge directly documents seduce someone into doing something for figurative persuasion or attraction that induces an action. This guide concerns the figurative persuade/attract sense, not the separate sexual sense of “seduce.” The cited entry directly supports the into + -ing construction; it does not establish seduce + object + to-infinitive as an equivalent pattern for this meaning.
Use “seduce someone into doing something” for the directly documented pattern; do not infer equal support for “seduce someone to do.”
Key details
Choose the right form
| Meaning / situation | Form / construction | Decision |
|---|---|---|
| figuratively attract or persuade someone so that they take an action | seduce + person + into + -ing | Use the directly documented figurative action pattern. |
| sexual sense of “seduce” | separate sense | This guide does not use the action-complement comparison to define the separate sexual meaning. |
| infer “seduce + person + to-infinitive” as an equivalent figurative complement | not established by the reviewed evidence | Do not generalize beyond the directly documented “into + -ing” construction. |
Quick tests
Meaning / construction test
Are you using the figurative persuade/attract sense and naming the induced action?
If yes: Use “seduce someone into doing.”
If no: If you mean another sense, use its appropriate construction; do not infer “seduce someone to do” as an equivalent from this evidence.
Caveat: This guide concerns the figurative persuade/attract sense documented with “into + -ing,” not the separate sexual sense.
Examples
The low price seduced buyers into ordering early.
In the figurative sense, “into + -ing” names the induced action.
The promise of convenience seduced us into changing providers.
The documented figurative construction takes “into + -ing.”
This comparison does not redefine the separate sexual sense of “seduce.”
The page is deliberately bounded to the figurative action construction.
Further guidance
Boundary
The cited entry directly supports the into + -ing construction; it does not establish seduce + object + to-infinitive as an equivalent pattern for this meaning.
Construction
Cambridge directly documents seduce someone into doing something for figurative persuasion or attraction that induces an action. This guide concerns the figurative persuade/attract sense, not the separate sexual sense of “seduce.”
Decision
Use “seduce someone into doing something” for the directly documented pattern; do not infer equal support for “seduce someone to do.”
Sources and evidence
Sources are shown with the role they play in this guide. Historical or style-sensitive claims are kept within the evidence boundary described above.
- seduce — Cambridge Dictionary (opens in a new tab)Cambridge Dictionary · Dictionary construction seduce someone into doing something