Synonyms

persuade

American

[per-swayd] / pərˈsweɪd /

verb (used with object)

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

to persuade the judge of the prisoner's innocence.

persuade British

/ pəˈsweɪd /

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

"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

Usage

See convince.

Synonym Usage

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

Derived Forms

Inflected Forms

Participles

Conjugated Forms

Present

Past

Future

Etymology

Origin of persuade

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

Explanation

If you get talked into something, you've been persuaded. If your friends try to persuade you to swan-dive into a dangerous ravine, it's time to find some new friends. To persuade is to get your way — win the argument, convince the group to see your favorite movie, get your parents to let you borrow the car. You persuade with language, with a carefully constructed argument, and with the strength of your conviction. The word is sometimes used tongue-in-cheek to describe the very opposite of a carefully worded argument. A movie gangster might "persuade" people with the gun he keeps tucked in his pocket.

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Argumentative Writing

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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:

persuade persuades persuaded persuading

"One by one, we must persuade our families, our friends, our neighbours, of our cause. One by one, step by step," he said.

From BBC ● Oct. 15, 2026

Wedged in the tiny space between irrelevancy and timeliness, Sorkin’s companion piece doesn’t need to say anything new to do its job; it only has to persuade us to pay attention to its shouts.

From Salon ● Oct. 11, 2026

They are also using targeted digital ads, mailers and phone calls to persuade these voters to cast ballots.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 10, 2026

And while serving in government, Noem adviser Corey Lewandowski reportedly tried to persuade Qatar and the United Arab Emirates to hire him on the side.

From Slate ● Oct. 8, 2026

“I hope I can persuade you to remain king until Oak is ready to return.”

From "The Cruel Prince" by Holly Black

Fielder persuades Holmes to watch it for the first time, on a laptop in the couple’s bed.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 16, 2026

But what is it about the country that persuades these couples to travel hundreds and sometimes thousands of miles to get married here?

From BBC ● Oct. 3, 2026

If none of this persuades you of the intrinsic greatness of this country, my fellow Americans, then at least use this historic moment to take a holiday from the bad stuff.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 1, 2026

This persuades Denyer that investing in U.S. grid plays, natural gas companies, as well as solar and wind, is a sensible strategy right now.

From MarketWatch ● May 8, 2026

Her gentle grin persuades me to take a bite.

From "Free Lunch" by Rex Ogle

Last spring, advocates persuaded council members to pursue a ballot measure that would double the parks allocation over four years.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 2026

Jobs was persuaded that a retail presence would be vital to the company’s comeback.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 30, 2026

Rantzen persuaded the BBC after the programme was transmitted that a helpline should be set up so that children suffering abuse or neglect could call in confidence.

From BBC ● Sep. 30, 2026

By 2014, Karnofsky, who had been reading Yudkowsky’s writings with both interest and some skepticism for years, was becoming persuaded by arguments about the importance of protecting the world from rogue AI.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 27, 2026

Much against his will Mutti persuaded him down, and carried him the rest of the way in her arms.

From "An Elephant in the Garden" by Michael Morpurgo

Campaigns are entering a crucial stretch for persuading the independent voters who will probably determine outcomes in swing races.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 11, 2026

I also think the challenge comes with continued broader adoption and persuading sceptical investors, and the ETF wrapper helps with that.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 8, 2026

Anna is staying with her aunt in hopes of persuading her to visit a doctor for severe neurological pain.

From Slate ● Sep. 22, 2026

Another factor persuading carry traders to rethink their exposure may be the imminence of further tightening by the Bank of Japan.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 8, 2026

The city of Anaheim started to recruit defense contractors, eventually persuading Northrop, Boeing, and North American Aviation to build factories there.

From "Fast Food Nation: The Dark Side of the All-American Meal" by Eric Schlosser

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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023