persuasion
Americannoun
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the act of persuading or seeking to persuade.
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the power of persuading; persuasive force.
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the state or fact of being persuaded or convinced.
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a deep conviction or belief.
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a form or system of belief, especially religious belief.
the Quaker persuasion.
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a sect, group, or faction holding or advocating a particular belief, idea, ideology, etc..
Several of the people present are of the socialist persuasion.
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Facetious. kind or sort.
noun
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the act of persuading or of trying to persuade
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the power to persuade
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the state of being persuaded; strong belief
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an established creed or belief, esp a religious one
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a sect, party, or faction
Synonym Usage
See advice.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of persuasion
First recorded in 1350–1400; late Middle English, from Latin persuāsiōn-, stem of persuāsiō; equivalent to per- + suasion; replacing Middle English persuacioun, from Middle French persuacion, from Latin, as above
Explanation
Persuasion is something meant to get you to do or believe something. If you’re not sure you want to go somewhere, your friend might use persuasion to talk you into it. Being of a certain persuasion or belief, means you already have your mind made up, as a person who is of the Democratic persuasion or the Lutheran persuasion. Another meaning for persuasion is the act of influencing someone to do something or to change their mind. For example, good salespeople use persuasion to get people to buy things, just as children use persuasion to get permission to do certain things.
Vocabulary lists containing persuasion
Academic Vocabulary Toolkit 1, Words 61-70
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Walk Two Moons
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Keystone Exams: English Composition Glossary
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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.
Persuasion, he rightly believed, isn’t an ornament but the heart of republican leadership.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 24, 2026
Persuasion fatigue may also explain why, when debates break down, people tend to blame their conversational opponent.
From Scientific American • Nov. 14, 2022
She was a director for Direct Persuasion, according to her LinkedIn page.
From New York Times • Sep. 3, 2022
And in "Persuasion," Anne Elliot is a consummate musician but does not envy the more showy accomplishments of the Musgrove sisters who play the harp, while she is still on the old-fashioned pianoforte.
From Salon • Jul. 18, 2022
Persuasion, entreaties, threats, we exhausted, and ended just where we began, except that we had lost our tempers.
From The Nerve of Foley And Other Railroad Stories by Spearman, Frank H. (Frank Hamilton)
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.
