allude, elude

The verb allude, always followed by the preposition to, means to refer indirectly.

• During the brunch, she alluded negatively to her business rivals’ products.
• Canadians allude to the United States as their neighbour to the south.

The verb elude means to escape from, avoid, or slip one’s mind.

• The fugitive has eluded capture by Canadian and Swiss police for the last year.
• The forward scored the first goal of the game with a shot that eluded the Hull Olympiques’ netminder.
• The title of Ondaatje’s latest book eludes me.