We won’t lead you astray over the history of adduce; it is one of a plethora of familiar words that trace to the Latin root dūcere, which means “to lead.” Perhaps we can induce you to deduce a few other dūcere offspring if we offer a few hints about them. One is a synonym of kidnap, one’s a title for a British royal, and one’s another word for decrease. There are your leads; here are the answers. They are abduct, duke, and reduce, respectively. There are also many others, including induce, which means “to persuade” or “to bring about.”

Examples

“She was tranquil, yet her tranquility was evidently constrained; and as her confusion had before been adduced as a proof of her guilt, she worked up her mind to an appearance of courage.” — Mary Shelley, Frankenstein, 1818

“His story proper begins in 1833, with pre-war productions of Othello, but earlier examples could easily have been adduced that would only have strengthened his case. On 3 April, 1760, for example, a newspaper in Annapolis, Maryland, advertised a production of Othello to be staged the following week…. — Sarah Churchwell, The New Statesman, 11 Mar. 2020