persuade

[per-sweyd]

verb (used with object)

persuaded, persuading 

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

Usage

See convince.

Other Word Forms

• persuadable adjective
• persuadability noun
• persuader noun
• persuadableness noun
• persuadably adverb
• persuadingly adverb
• nonpersuadable adjective
• prepersuade verb (used with object)
• unpersuadable adjective
• unpersuadably adverb
• unpersuaded adjective
• well-persuaded adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of persuade¹

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of persuade¹

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

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.

Example Sentences

Eventually, Truell and the team grew more aggressive about hiring, flying around the world to persuade people to join them, even if they had previously said no.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Paterson persuaded the Scottish parliament to establish a new enterprise based on England’s East India Company to found a Scottish colony on the narrow isthmus joining North and South America.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Those insurance companies send out a lot of mail and email at this time of year, trying to persuade people to choose their plans.

Read more on Science Daily

Claire Brown was persuaded to buy two dresses for £73 from Luxe and Luna London, after "constantly" seeing the company's appealing adverts on Facebook.

Read more on BBC

Half a dozen peace initiatives have failed, none of them able to pressure or persuade regional powerbrokers to push for a compromise.

Read more on BBC

Related Words

• advise 
• assure 
• cajole 
• coax 
• enlist 
• entice 
• exhort 
• get 
• impress 
• incline 
• induce 
• influence 
• prompt 
• satisfy 
• sway 
• urge 
• woo