coax

[ kohks ]

/ koʊks /

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See synonyms for: coax / coaxed / coaxes / coaxing on Thesaurus.com

verb (used with object)

to attempt to influence by gentle persuasion, flattery, etc.; cajole: He coaxed her to sing, but she refused.

to obtain by coaxing: We coaxed the secret from him.

to manipulate to a desired end by adroit handling or persistent effort: He coaxed the large chair through the door.

Obsolete.

to fondle.
to fool; deceive.

verb (used without object)

to use gentle persuasion.

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Origin of coax

1580–90; v. use of cokes fool (now obsolete), perhaps variant of coxcomb

OTHER WORDS FROM coax

coaxer, nouncoax·ing·ly, adverbhalf-coaxing, adjectivehalf-coax·ing·ly, adverb

un·coaxed, adjectiveun·coax·ing, adjective

Other definitions for coax (2 of 2)

coax²

[ koh-aks, koh-aks ]

/ koʊˈæks, ˈkoʊ æks /

noun Electricity.

coaxial cable.

Origin of coax

First recorded in 1945–50; by shortening

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use coax in a sentence

She coaxes an ice castle up from the ground, throws off her crown, and becomes the Snow Queen.
Why These Marines Love ‘Frozen’—and Why It Matters|Aaron B. O’Connell|June 27, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Then the Attorney talks with the most pliant jurors, coaxes them, wheedles them, stimulates them to do what he wants done.
The Trial of Theodore Parker|Theodore Parker
And theres a boy lives in our street that coaxes me to have a game with him once in a while.
Letty and the Twins|Helen Sherman Griffith
It caresses the prevailing commonness and ugliness, and coaxes it into a semblance of beauty in spite of itself.
London Films|William Dean Howells

He blazes his mark upon the secular oaks, as a guidance to later travellers, and coaxes flame from heaps of mouldering rubbish.
Style|Walter Raleigh
She stirs and coaxes and coquettes with the lovely foamy mass until it becomes as light as the yellow down on a fledgling's wings.
As Seen By Me|Lilian Bell

British Dictionary definitions for coax (1 of 2)

coax¹

/ (kəʊks) /

verb

to seek to manipulate or persuade (someone) by tenderness, flattery, pleading, etc

(tr) to obtain by persistent coaxing

(tr) to work on or tend (something) carefully and patiently so as to make it function as one desireshe coaxed the engine into starting

(tr) obsolete to caress

(tr) obsolete to deceive

Derived forms of coax

coaxer, nouncoaxingly, adverb

Word Origin for coax

C16: verb formed from obsolete noun cokes fool, of unknown origin

British Dictionary definitions for coax (2 of 2)

coax²

/ (ˈkəʊæks) /

noun

short for coaxial cable

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

coax

Origin of coax

OTHER WORDS FROM coax

Other definitions for coax (2 of 2)

Origin of coax

Words related to coax

How to use coax in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for coax (1 of 2)

Derived forms of coax

Word Origin for coax

British Dictionary definitions for coax (2 of 2)