being led on

Meanings

1. 1phrasefixed phraseinformal

   the state of being tricked into believing someone is more interested or serious than they really are.

   Grammar: Used after be: she is being led on. It is passive, so the person doing the trick is not the subject.

   Patterns

   • be led on
   • be led on by someone

   She realized she was being led on when he stopped calling.

   Being led on for months made him angry and sad.

   He felt he was being led on about the promotion.

2. 2phrasefixed phraseinformal

   the state of being given false hope that something will happen.

   Grammar: Can be used about business or other situations, not only romance.

   Patterns

   • be led on
   • be led on about something

   The buyers were led on for weeks before the deal fell through.

   Don't let yourself be led on by promises you can't check.

Common combinations

lead someone on

He didn't want a serious relationship, so he shouldn't have led her on.

be led on

I was led on by his friendly messages.

feel led on

She felt led on after he canceled their third date.

keep leading someone on

Stop leading him on if you're not interested.

Synonyms and how they differ

strung along

Strung along is similar but often suggests being kept waiting for a long time, while led on focuses on false hope.

misled

Misled is more general and formal; 'led on' is informal and usually about feelings or romance.

Opposites

Word family

lead someone on phrasal verb

To make someone believe you are more interested than you are.

leading someone on phrase

The active -ing form: the act of tricking someone this way.

Commonly confused: being led on or led?

Practice

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