induce
Americanverb (used with object)
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induces,
present (3rd person singular)
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induced,
past participle, past
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inducing
present participle
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to lead or move by persuasion or influence, as to some action or state of mind.
to induce a person to buy a raffle ticket.
- Antonyms:
- dissuade
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to bring about, produce, or cause.
That medicine will induce sleep.
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Physics. to produce (an electric current) by induction.
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Logic. to assert or establish (a proposition about a class of phenomena) on the basis of observations on a number of particular facts.
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Genetics. to increase expression of (a gene) by inactivating a negative control system or activating a positive control system; derepress.
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Biochemistry. to stimulate the synthesis of (a protein, especially an enzyme) by increasing gene transcription.
verb
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(often foll by an infinitive) to persuade or use influence on
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to cause or bring about
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med to initiate or hasten (labour), as by administering a drug to stimulate uterine contractions
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obsolete logic to assert or establish (a general proposition, hypothesis, etc) by induction
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to produce (an electromotive force or electrical current) by induction
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to transmit (magnetism) by induction
Synonym Usage
See persuade.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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inducernoun
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preinduceverb (used with object)
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reinduceverb (used with object)
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inducibleadjective
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noninducibleadjective
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uninducibleadjective
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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inducesimple
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inducessimple
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have inducedperfect
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has inducedperfect
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am inducingprogressive
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are inducingprogressive
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is inducingprogressive
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have been inducingperfect progressive
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has been inducingperfect progressive
Past
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inducedsimple
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had inducedperfect
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was inducingprogressive
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were inducingprogressive
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had been inducingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of induce
First recorded in 1325–75; Middle English, from Latin indūcere “to lead or bring in, introduce,” equivalent to in- in- 2 + dūcere “to lead”; cf. adduce, deduce, reduce
Explanation
To induce is to move or lead someone to action. A promise of a lollipop can induce a toddler to do just about anything, even sit down and be polite to Aunt Edna. Older kids need something more substantial. Some people believe that if you offer someone a large enough sum of money, you could induce them to do almost anything. But a movie heroine might say to the villain, "Nothing could induce me to marry you. Not all the money in the world. Not if you were the last man on Earth!" Induce also means to stimulate the occurrence of something, such as medications used to induce vomiting, or to induce a pregnant woman to go into labor.
Vocabulary lists containing induce
Lead the Way: Duc and Duct
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This Week in Words: Feb. 25 - Mar. 2, 2018
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Twelfth Night
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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:
"The strain-dependent nature suggests that we may be able to use lattice strain as a tuning knob to induce or control altermagnetism," Zhang said.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 27, 2026
Section 301 allows a president to tariff as a targeted economic diplomacy measure to induce a foreign government to abandon a particular practice.
From Slate ● Aug. 27, 2026
Though he knows both Ellis’ and Murphy’s work tends to induce “strong reactions,” he also hopes people will see beyond the “movie poster exterior.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 5, 2026
“That’s lying to induce people to support you.”
From Salon ● Aug. 1, 2026
There must be other rewards that will induce him to solve problems.
From "Flowers for Algernon" by Daniel Keyes
And while much of the movie induces sidesplitting guffaws, Tremaine said that producer and co-creator Spike Jonze was eager to highlight the sensitive beats shared between the cast.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 29, 2026
Tesshi Nakagawa’s scenic design is like a toy kingdom that induces the audience into a state of make-believe.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 13, 2026
Poornima, a salt pan worker, sips black tea during the day -- saying the hot drink induces sweating in the dry weather to cool the body.
From Barron's ● May 10, 2026
This charge induces an opposite charge in the worm, creating an attraction that pulls the two together.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 15, 2025
It induces a kind of psychological claustrophobia that makes one yearn not only for freedom of movement but spiritual escape.
From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela
All told, the U.S. aluminum sector anchors roughly 700,000 direct, indirect and induced jobs, with over $228 billion in economic output.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 31, 2026
Stewart was pulled to the shore by other swimmers and rushed to hospital, where she was placed in an induced coma and underwent almost a dozen surgeries.
From BBC ● Aug. 31, 2026
The treated mice were also more resistant to chemically induced colitis.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 21, 2026
Díaz induced Joey Ortiz to ground out to Mookie Betts at shortstop to end the game.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 15, 2026
They knew that it was essentially a liquid which could be induced to flow slowly toward cooing and light.
From "Slaughterhouse-Five" by Kurt Vonnegut
He stayed true to his identity, pounding the strike zone and inducing weak contact to go with nine strikeouts.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 8, 2026
This separation is a phase change that consumes energy, inducing a cooling effect, like when steam evaporates off a cup of hot water.
From BBC ● Jun. 16, 2026
It signals to every counterparty transacting with a designated party that it could be next, inducing it to sever its ties to Iranian-linked finance.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 9, 2026
But, he was left stranded as Sasaki finished the inning by inducing a groundout before striking out Adam Frazier.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 6, 2026
A late winter wind blew the tops around, inducing in her a momentary vertigo.
From "Snow Falling on Cedars: A Novel" by David Guterson
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.
