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View synonyms for persuade

persuade

[ per-sweyd ]

verb (used with object)

, per·suad·ed, per·suad·ing.
  1. to prevail on (a person) to do something, as by advising or urging:

    We could not persuade him to wait.

    Synonyms: impel, entice, move, influence, urge

    Antonyms: dissuade

  2. to induce to believe by appealing to reason or understanding; convince:

    to persuade the judge of the prisoner's innocence.



persuade

/ pəˈsweɪd /

verb

  1. to induce, urge, or prevail upon successfully

    he finally persuaded them to buy it

  2. to cause to believe; convince

    even with the evidence, the police were not persuaded

“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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Usage Note

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Derived Forms

  • perˈsuadable, adjective
  • perˌsuadaˈbility, noun
  • perˈsuader, noun
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Other Words From

  • per·suada·ble adjective
  • per·suada·bili·ty per·suada·ble·ness noun
  • per·suada·bly adverb
  • per·suading·ly adverb
  • nonper·suada·ble adjective
  • preper·suade verb (used with object) prepersuaded prepersuading
  • unper·suada·ble adjective
  • unper·suada·bly adverb
  • unper·suaded adjective
  • well-per·suaded adjective
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Word History and Origins

Origin of persuade1

From the Latin word persuādēre, dating back to 1505–15. See per-, dissuade, suasion
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Word History and Origins

Origin of persuade1

C16: from Latin persuādēre, from per- (intensive) + suādēre to urge, advise
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Synonym Study

Persuade, induce imply influencing someone's thoughts or actions. They are used today mainly in the sense of winning over a person to a certain course of action: It was I who persuaded him to call a doctor. I induced him to do it. They differ in that persuade suggests appealing more to the reason and understanding: I persuaded him to go back to his wife (although it is often lightly used: Can't I persuade you to stay to supper? ); induce emphasizes only the idea of successful influence, whether achieved by argument or by promise of reward: What can I say that will induce you to stay at your job? Owing to this idea of compensation, induce may be used in reference to the influence of factors as well as of persons: The prospect of a raise in salary was what induced him to stay.
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Example Sentences

He goes into some detail into what it took to persuade voters to pass marriage equality at the ballot box in four states in 2012.

When I tried to persuade him to drop the title The Short Night, I proposed calling the picture Pursuit.

Unstoppable or not, John H has seen little in his 38 years to persuade him progress is benign.

A bunch of old, white, rock titans come together with young, white, X Factor hotties to persuade Britain to heal Africa.

“My mom tried to persuade me on it and told me about the coverups on college campuses,” he explains.

What though Maurice wanted to persuade me at Paris that I had better take a britska, as more fashionable?

For God's sake write and persuade him to go to Davos at once—and picture the delights of a pretty and devoted nurse.

Some of us believe, or persuade ourselves that we believe, that miracles did happen a few thousand years ago.

It is said that the rancher visited Chicago several times following in an effort to persuade her to return.

Does the old swindler think to persuade me that C. F. Garman is in want of cash?

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