Synonyms

cajole

American

[kuh-johl] / kəˈdʒoʊl /

verb (used with or without object)

cajoled, cajoling

to persuade by flattery or promises; wheedle; coax.

cajole British

/ kəˈdʒəʊl /

verb

to persuade (someone) by flattery or pleasing talk to do what one wants; wheedle; coax

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

cajolement noun
cajoler noun
cajolery noun
cajolingly adverb
uncajoling adjective

Etymology

Origin of cajole

1635–45; < French cajoler to cajole or chatter like a jaybird, apparently derivative of *cajole birdcage (< Late Latin caveola < Latin cave ( a ) cage + -ola -ole ¹ ( def. ) ) + -er infinitive suffix

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

My mother did her best to cajole me into going.

From MarketWatch

With no budget to hire trained reporters, Ned leans on the paper's dwindling staff, cajoling disgruntled employees into volunteering as journalists despite them having no idea what they're doing.

From BBC

Do they need cajoling or taking down a peg or two?

From BBC

So the amount of damage control and cajoling it will take to keep things on track after the disaster in Arizona is enough to make a good fire advocate’s head spin.

From Los Angeles Times

As the administration’s Aug. 12 letter put it, the object is to cajole, and even force, them to all follow “the President’s directive.”

From Salon

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023