persuade
Americanverb (used with object)
verb
-
to induce, urge, or prevail upon successfully
he finally persuaded them to buy it
-
to cause to believe; convince
even with the evidence, the police were not persuaded
Usage
See convince.
Related Words
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.
Other Word Forms
- nonpersuadable adjective
- persuadability noun
- persuadable adjective
- persuadableness noun
- persuadably adverb
- persuader noun
- persuadingly adverb
- prepersuade verb (used with object)
- unpersuadable adjective
- unpersuadably adverb
- unpersuaded adjective
- well-persuaded adjective
Etymology
Origin of persuade
From the Latin word persuādēre, dating back to 1505–15. See per-, dissuade, suasion
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.
The Gulf state has begun a campaign to persuade the U.S. and allies in Europe and Asia to open the waterway by any means necessary.
“We can only attempt to persuade you to do the right things for your shareholder-partners,” the activist investor said in its letter.
Sergei, a Russian immigrant, and Tszman Chan, from Hong Kong had not only revived the tradition, but persuaded artists from across the world to come to the most north westerly of the Orkney islands.
From BBC
"They are very intent on trying to win the soft influence battle to try and persuade politicians to go easy on them."
From BBC
She laid blame on social media, saying the internet was a "breeding ground" that made it possible for major powers to persuade people to "engage in espionage and spread propaganda" in exchange for payment.
From Barron's
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.
