dissuade

American  

[dih-swayd] / dɪˈsweɪd /

verb (used with object)

• dissuades,
  present (3rd person singular)
• dissuaded,
  past participle,  past
• dissuading
  present participle

1. to deter by advice or persuasion; persuade not to do something (often followed byfrom ).

   She dissuaded him from leaving home.

2. Archaic. to advise or urge against.

   to dissuade an action.

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dissuade British  

/ dɪˈsweɪd /

verb

1. (often foll by from) to deter (someone) by persuasion from a course of action, policy, etc

2. to advise against (an action, etc)

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• dissuader
  noun
• dissuasion
  noun
• dissuasiveness
  noun
• predissuade
  verb (used with object)
• dissuadable
  adjective
• dissuasive
  adjective
• undissuadable
  adjective
• dissuasively
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Participles

• dissuading
  present
• dissuaded
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• dissuade
  simple
• dissuades
  simple
• have dissuaded
  perfect
• has dissuaded
  perfect
• am dissuading
  progressive
• are dissuading
  progressive
• is dissuading
  progressive
• have been dissuading
  perfect progressive
• has been dissuading
  perfect progressive

Past

• dissuaded
  simple
• had dissuaded
  perfect
• was dissuading
  progressive
• were dissuading
  progressive
• had been dissuading
  perfect progressive

Future

• will dissuade
  simple
• will have dissuaded
  perfect
• will be dissuading
  progressive
• will have been dissuading
  perfect progressive

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Etymology

Origin of dissuade

1505–15; < Latin dissuādēre, equivalent to dis- dis- ¹ + suādēre to recommend, urge, derivative of suād-, base of suāvis tasting agreeable; see suave

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Explanation

When you dissuade someone, you convince that person not to do something: “When Caroline saw Peter's broken leg, she tried to dissuade him from going on the ski trip.” Remember the meaning of dissuade by comparing it to its more common relative persuade. The suade part that both words share has origins in the Latin root suadēre, meaning “to urge.” In the case of persuade, the prefix per- means “thoroughly,” intensifying “to urge” and giving persuade its meaning of “to convince.” Think of dissuade as the opposite of persuade: the prefix dis- reverses the action of the root, giving the meaning of not urging, in other words, convincing someone NOT to do something.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

dissuade dissuades dissuaded dissuading

She also said higher interest rates won’t dissuade hyperscalers but might influence companies in other industries.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 14, 2026

Nabi Mustafa Mina, the father of Zanyar who was 19 when he died, told of how he tried to dissuade his son from leaving.

From BBC ● Sep. 30, 2026

So far that hasn’t happened, but experts argue the lack of accompanied public messaging could still dissuade some people from keeping up-to-date on their vaccinations.

From Salon ● Sep. 2, 2026

It reenacts the Prophet Abraham's stoning of the devil at three places where Satan is said to have tried to dissuade him from obeying God's command to sacrifice his son Ishmael.

From Barron's ● May 27, 2026

And yet when Maxine had shopped for the things to put in the basket, at Dean and DeLuca, he’d said nothing to dissuade her.

From "The Namesake" by Jhumpa Lahiri

High doses can also sometimes cause changes in behaviour, such as depression, which often dissuades people from starting treatment, according to campaigners.

From BBC ● Sep. 20, 2024

Walz told AP he hopes the Legislature will seek a compromise that includes fair pay for drivers but also dissuades the companies from leaving the market.

From Seattle Times ● Mar. 15, 2024

It all builds to a standoff between Cornelius and Rosie Perez, who refuses to sign to his record label because he repeatedly dissuades her from consulting a lawyer.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 13, 2023

A lack of enough childcare spots dissuades many working women from becoming mothers, he added.

From Reuters ● Jul. 5, 2023

The Squire dissuades him—and growling contemptuously, the lawyer does not further oppose the desire of the ladies.

From The Last of the Foresters Or, Humors on the Border; A story of the Old Virginia Frontier by John Esten Cooke

Analysts have said the film was challenging to market, given a major twist in the plot, and that Cruise’s nearly unrecognizable appearance could have dissuaded his fan base from coming out to support the film.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 12, 2026

He may have been dissuaded from imposing a toll, but this is the way he thinks, and this is how he defines U.S. interests.

From Slate ● Jul. 15, 2026

This outcome secured the Caribbean for Britain and dissuaded the French and Spanish from a planned invasion of Jamaica.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 13, 2026

"Second, and most important, the harassment by the British press has dissuaded them from ever cooperating with UK authorities or speaking with the British press."

From BBC ● May 28, 2026

But Felicia would not be dissuaded from the orishas.

From "Dreaming in Cuban" by Cristina García

Hochman said last week that he wanted to thread the needle between punishing the illegal recording and not dissuading whistleblowers from coming forward.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 26, 2026

The property crisis drags on and home prices have stagnated, dissuading would-be buyers.

From Barron's ● Jul. 15, 2026

Police stopped, questioned and frisked those suspected of carrying weapons or casing a business, dissuading the ill-intentioned from packing guns while reducing shootings.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 8, 2026

So leaders have more trouble either credibly threatening bad members to resign or dissuading other members from taking justice into their own hands.

From Slate ● Apr. 16, 2026

Had I succeeded in dissuading Hamlet from revenge?

From "Ophelia" by Lisa Klein

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Related Words

• deter
• discourage
• divert
• faze
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