coax
1 Americanverb (used with object)
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to influence or persuade to do something by gentle urging, smooth talk, flattery, etc..
He tried to coax her to sing, but she refused.
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to obtain by coaxing.
We coaxed the secret from him.
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to manipulate to a desired end by adroit handling or persistent effort.
He coaxed the large chair through the door.
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Obsolete.
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to fondle.
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to fool; deceive.
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verb (used without object)
noun
verb
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to seek to manipulate or persuade (someone) by tenderness, flattery, pleading, etc
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(tr) to obtain by persistent coaxing
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(tr) to work on or tend (something) carefully and patiently so as to make it function as one desires
he coaxed the engine into starting
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obsolete (tr) to caress
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obsolete (tr) to deceive
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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coaxsimple
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coaxessimple
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have coaxedperfect
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has coaxedperfect
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am coaxingprogressive
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are coaxingprogressive
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is coaxingprogressive
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have been coaxingperfect progressive
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has been coaxingperfect progressive
Past
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coaxedsimple
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had coaxedperfect
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was coaxingprogressive
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were coaxingprogressive
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had been coaxingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of coax1
First recorded in 1580–90; verb use of obsolete cokes “fool,” perhaps variant of coxcomb ( def. )
Origin of coax2
First recorded in 1945–50; by shortening
Explanation
When you coax someone, you try to convince him gently, with pleasant words and maybe a little flattery. You’ll have to be patient, as you can’t rush someone you’re trying to coax. When you coax, you have to be nice about it — you can’t threaten or force. You put on a little charm and gently urge, so that the person or thing is happy about being coaxed. You might coax the runaway elephant back into the zoo by patting her gently and talking into her ear. If you wake up with a terrible bedhead, you might coax your hair back into place with the help of a little hair gel and a comb.
Vocabulary lists containing coax
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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:
It’s no secret that some members of the Fed’s rate-setting committee favor interest-rate hikes to coax inflation back down.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 26, 2026
Kevin Warsh, the new Federal Reserve chair, is helping coax Treasury yields lower by talking tough on inflation.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 26, 2026
De Zerbi, by his own admission, has had to be as much a psychologist as coach to coax Spurs to survival.
From BBC ● May 24, 2026
They came up with what many saw as a long-shot plan: coax the whale into the water-filled hold of a special barge and tow it back to its natural habitat.
From Barron's ● May 16, 2026
I talked to her and tried to coax her out.
From "Where the Red Fern Grows" by Wilson Rawls
And to read that structure, the painting coaxes you to decide from what perspective you are viewing the scene.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 20, 2026
Camila coaxes Wes to dance, and he is not as bad dancer as he claims to be.
From Salon ● Aug. 9, 2024
Aparicio coaxes cultural histories from his rubber casts of trees and meandering flows of poured amber.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 22, 2024
It’s not until Pointer coaxes her to take off her artificial leg, leaving her dependent on him, that her internal alarm bells start to go off.
From Slate ● Mar. 29, 2024
Cressida has us sit in the nook in the rocks, where it’s impossible not to be touching, and coaxes us into talking about hunting.
From "Mockingjay" by Suzanne Collins
She is standing in front of The Barefoot Contessa with her dark hair coaxed into perky curls, wearing a matching aubergine button-down and skirt.
From Salon ● Jul. 11, 2026
The administration’s efforts to control Anthropic’s technology were spurred by an Amazon report finding that Fable could be coaxed into finding bugs.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 17, 2026
They coaxed, cajoled, begged and beseeched for support to bring the tournament to North America.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 7, 2026
The whale was coaxed into the water-filled barge on Tuesday, in a mission funded by two German entrepreneurs.
From BBC ● Apr. 29, 2026
Blake had coaxed the mutt to his side during a trip to town.
From "The Underground Railroad: A Novel" by Colson Whitehead
After some coaxing from family, Ramirez realized he was perfectly equipped to create mobile kitchens from scratch.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 25, 2026
The woman crouches, coaxing the animal with sweet compliments and a stick of sugarcane she brought with her.
From Slate ● May 27, 2026
It was not about coaxing the maximum possible pleasure out of a cut of meat.
From Salon ● Apr. 10, 2026
The 25-year-old tech engineer has been coached by his cousin, coaxing the kite higher and higher with a twitch of the string.
From BBC ● Feb. 7, 2026
But the daughters would not give up coaxing me to remain with them.
From "Tasting the Sky" by Ibtisam Barakat
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.
