wheedle
to endeavor to influence (a person) by smooth, flattering, or beguiling words or acts: We wheedled him incessantly, but he would not consent.
to persuade (a person) by such words or acts: She wheedled him into going with her.
to obtain (something) by artful persuasions: I wheedled a new car out of my father.
to use beguiling or artful persuasions: I always wheedle if I really need something.
Origin of wheedle
1Other words for wheedle
Other words from wheedle
- whee·dler, noun
- whee·dling·ly, adverb
- un·whee·dled, adjective
Words Nearby wheedle
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use wheedle in a sentence
Many times he would approach a patient and wheedle his great head under the patient's hand.
Instantly there flashes to mind the image of a carpet salesman in the Istanbul bazaar trying to wheedle me into his stall.
Bumper looked in Jimsy's and wheedle's eyes, and saw they were pink, but he was still doubtful.
Bumper, The White Rabbit | George Ethelbert WalshThey knew all the secrets of the ogress, and how to wheedle and coax her.
Legends and Tales | Bret HarteMaud believes that she can marry Clyde, and come back and wheedle me into taking them both into my good graces.
Guy Kenmore's Wife and The Rose and the Lily | Mrs. Alex McVeigh Miller
I thought it would be an easy matter to wheedle my doting uncle into taking us both back.
Guy Kenmore's Wife and The Rose and the Lily | Mrs. Alex McVeigh MillerHow Gipsy managed to wheedle the cook nobody ever discovered, but she returned in a short time triumphantly carrying a tray.
The Leader of the Lower School | Angela Brazil
British Dictionary definitions for wheedle
/ (ˈwiːdəl) /
to persuade or try to persuade (someone) by coaxing words, flattery, etc
(tr) to obtain by coaxing and flattery: she wheedled some money out of her father
Origin of wheedle
1Derived forms of wheedle
- wheedler, noun
- wheedling, adjective
- wheedlingly, adverb
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
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