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dissuade

[dih-sweyd]
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verb (used with object), dis·suad·ed, dis·suad·ing.
  1. to deter by advice or persuasion; persuade not to do something (often followed by from): She dissuaded him from leaving home.
  2. Archaic. to advise or urge against: to dissuade an action.
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Origin of dissuade

1505–15; < Latin dissuādēre, equivalent to dis- dis-1 + suādēre to recommend, urge, derivative of suād-, base of suāvis tasting agreeable; see suave
Related formsdis·suad·a·ble, adjectivedis·suad·er, nounpre·dis·suade, verb (used with object), pre·dis·suad·ed, pre·dis·suad·ing.un·dis·suad·a·ble, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words

prevent, discourage, thwart, faze, deter, warn, divert, hinder, counsel, prick, exhort, expostulate, deprecate, remonstrate, derail, disincline

Examples from the Web for dissuade

Contemporary Examples

Historical Examples

  • I—some of our healers can dissuade the conviction of decayed teeth.

  • The man was about to attempt to dissuade her, when Sing interrupted.

    The Monster Men

    Edgar Rice Burroughs

  • They tried to dissuade her, but she grew irritable and ordered them to go on.

    Father Sergius

    Leo Tolstoy

  • Yet neither tried to dissuade her from the rash adventure—as yet.

    Louisiana Lou

    William West Winter

  • Thankful at first tried to dissuade her, but soon gave up the attempt.

    Thankful's Inheritance

    Joseph C. Lincoln

British Dictionary definitions for dissuade

dissuade

verb (tr)
  1. (often foll by from) to deter (someone) by persuasion from a course of action, policy, etc
  2. to advise against (an action, etc)
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Derived Formsdissuadable, adjectivedissuader, noundissuasion, noundissuasive, adjectivedissuasively, adverbdissuasiveness, noun

Word Origin

C15: from Latin dissuādēre, from dis- 1 + suādēre to persuade
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

Word Origin and History for dissuade

v.

1510s, from Middle French dissuader and directly from Latin dissuadere "to advise against, oppose by argument," from dis- "off, against" (see dis-) + suadere "to urge" (see suasion). Related: Dissuaded; dissuading.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper