si|ren

si|ren «SY ruhn», noun, adjective.

–n.

1. a kind of whistle that makes a loud, piercing sound: »

a police siren, an air-raid siren. We heard the sirens of the fire engines.

2. Also, Siren. Greek and Roman Legend. any one of a group of nymphs who, by their sweet singing, lured sailors to destruction upon the rocks.

3. Figurative. any woman who lures, tempts, or entices: »

... that pretty little girl who used to live just around the corner, has returned to town…a full-fledged siren (New Yorker).

4. any one of a genus of aquatic, eellike amphibians with small forelimbs, no hindlimbs, and three pairs of external gills that remain even after the lungs are formed.

–adj.

of or like a siren; tempting; charming: »

siren words, siren charms. The siren call of alleged panaceas (New York Times).

SYNONYM(S): bewitching, alluring.

╂[< Latin sīrēn < Greek seir, -ênos]

–si´ren|like´, adjective.