dissuade
Americanverb (used with object)
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dissuades,
present (3rd person singular)
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dissuaded,
past participle, past
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dissuading
present participle
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to deter by advice or persuasion; persuade not to do something (often followed byfrom ).
She dissuaded him from leaving home.
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Archaic. to advise or urge against.
to dissuade an action.
verb
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(often foll by from) to deter (someone) by persuasion from a course of action, policy, etc
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to advise against (an action, etc)
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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dissuadernoun
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dissuasionnoun
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dissuasivenessnoun
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predissuadeverb (used with object)
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dissuadableadjective
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dissuasiveadjective
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undissuadableadjective
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dissuasivelyadverb
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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dissuadesimple
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dissuadessimple
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have dissuadedperfect
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has dissuadedperfect
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am dissuadingprogressive
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are dissuadingprogressive
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is dissuadingprogressive
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have been dissuadingperfect progressive
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has been dissuadingperfect progressive
Past
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dissuadedsimple
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had dissuadedperfect
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was dissuadingprogressive
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were dissuadingprogressive
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had been dissuadingperfect progressive
Future
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
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.
Vocabulary lists containing dissuade
100 SAT Words Beginning with "D"
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Metamorphosis
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Expository Writing, List 1
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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.
See Examples For:
At times, all he had to do to dissuade a would-be challenger was shoot them a menacing glance.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 26, 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
If the person on the other end tries to dissuade you from talking to anyone else, or tries to tell you there’s no time, it’s a scam.
From MarketWatch ● May 22, 2026
They also proposed displaying cigarette-style images at sunbed shops and tanning salons to dissuade people from using them.
From BBC ● May 13, 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
"We expect slowing job growth in this sector as diminished loan availability dissuades restaurant operators and other smaller businesses from hiring new workers and opening new establishments."
From Reuters ● Mar. 30, 2023
That’s because low vitamin D levels are common in people with any health condition that dissuades them from spending time outdoors—the sun is an important source of vitamin D—or from eating a vitamin-rich diet.
From Scientific American ● Mar. 13, 2023
He started dumping soapy water down the corner steps to de-stink them in the summer and realized it also dissuades people from sleeping or sitting there.
From Seattle Times ● Aug. 16, 2022
False theological opinions are corrected by Daniel, who not only dissuades from idol-worship, but persuades to that of the true deity.
From The Three Additions to Daniel, a Study by William Heaford Daubney
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
Immigration raids and wildfires dissuaded tourists from visiting, and even Canadian tourists who typically make up the largest number of foreign visitors to California dropped 21%.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 10, 2026
"It doesn't seem like creators have been dissuaded from pushing misleading AI-generated images and videos about the conflict," he said.
From Barron's ● Mar. 15, 2026
It would also be important to make sure the animals were not dissuaded from gardens, which have become an essential habitat as the countryside becomes less suitable.
From BBC ● Mar. 10, 2026
The only time she dissuaded him was when he was about to destroy the daguerreotype of Remedios that was kept in the parlor lighted by an eternal lamp.
From "One Hundred Years of Solitude" by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
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
The ever-shifting landscape of golden visas isn’t dissuading people from securing one, however.
From Barron's ● Dec. 23, 2025
Experts say the availability of auto-industry jobs has been a key factor in dissuading many Mexicans from immigrating to the United States.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 28, 2025
Had I succeeded in dissuading Hamlet from revenge?
From "Ophelia" by Lisa Klein
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
