dissuade
Americanverb (used with object)
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dissuades,
present (3rd person singular)
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dissuaded,
past participle, past
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dissuading
present participle
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to deter by advice or persuasion; persuade not to do something (often followed byfrom ).
She dissuaded him from leaving home.
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Archaic. to advise or urge against.
to dissuade an action.
verb
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(often foll by from) to deter (someone) by persuasion from a course of action, policy, etc
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to advise against (an action, etc)
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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dissuadernoun
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dissuasionnoun
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dissuasivenessnoun
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predissuadeverb (used with object)
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dissuadableadjective
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dissuasiveadjective
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undissuadableadjective
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dissuasivelyadverb
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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dissuadesimple
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dissuadessimple
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have dissuadedperfect
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has dissuadedperfect
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am dissuadingprogressive
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are dissuadingprogressive
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is dissuadingprogressive
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have been dissuadingperfect progressive
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has been dissuadingperfect progressive
Past
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dissuadedsimple
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had dissuadedperfect
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was dissuadingprogressive
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were dissuadingprogressive
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had been dissuadingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
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
Explanation
When you dissuade someone, you convince that person not to do something: “When Caroline saw Peter's broken leg, she tried to dissuade him from going on the ski trip.” Remember the meaning of dissuade by comparing it to its more common relative persuade. The suade part that both words share has origins in the Latin root suadēre, meaning “to urge.” In the case of persuade, the prefix per- means “thoroughly,” intensifying “to urge” and giving persuade its meaning of “to convince.” Think of dissuade as the opposite of persuade: the prefix dis- reverses the action of the root, giving the meaning of not urging, in other words, convincing someone NOT to do something.
Vocabulary lists containing dissuade
100 SAT Words Beginning with "D"
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Metamorphosis
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Expository Writing, List 1
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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:
If the person on the other end tries to dissuade you from talking to anyone else, or tries to tell you there’s no time, it’s a scam.
From MarketWatch ● May 22, 2026
They also proposed displaying cigarette-style images at sunbed shops and tanning salons to dissuade people from using them.
From BBC ● May 13, 2026
The Vatican has tried to mediate between Washington and Havana, dissuade the U.S. from using force and ameliorate an economic crisis compounded this year by a U.S. oil blockade.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 7, 2026
Others worry it will dissuade local real estate investment, or point out that properties can be vacant for a variety of reasons, including during renovations or transitions.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 8, 2026
She was not inclined to dissuade her mother from wandering far away from the terrace.
From "Atonement" by Ian McEwan
He added there was an "unwelcome increase in tax on landlord income from rental property which, on top of recent legislation, rather dissuades people from investing in property to let".
From BBC ● Nov. 27, 2025
The program encourages fighters to lay down their arms and dissuades potential recruits.
From Seattle Times ● Apr. 3, 2024
"We expect slowing job growth in this sector as diminished loan availability dissuades restaurant operators and other smaller businesses from hiring new workers and opening new establishments."
From Reuters ● Mar. 30, 2023
That’s because low vitamin D levels are common in people with any health condition that dissuades them from spending time outdoors—the sun is an important source of vitamin D—or from eating a vitamin-rich diet.
From Scientific American ● Mar. 13, 2023
Has not she who dissuades a ruler from an iniquitous measure done something toward saving his soul?
From The Catholic World; Volume I, Issues 1-6 A Monthly Eclectic Magazine by E. Rameur
He may have been dissuaded from imposing a toll, but this is the way he thinks, and this is how he defines U.S. interests.
From Slate ● Jul. 15, 2026
Immigration raids and wildfires dissuaded tourists from visiting, and even Canadian tourists who typically make up the largest number of foreign visitors to California dropped 21%.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 10, 2026
"Second, and most important, the harassment by the British press has dissuaded them from ever cooperating with UK authorities or speaking with the British press."
From BBC ● May 28, 2026
While Walter Hunt’s daughter dissuaded her father from obtaining a sewing-machine patent, Elias Howe Jr.’s wife inspired her husband to get one.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 12, 2026
But Felicia would not be dissuaded from the orishas.
From "Dreaming in Cuban" by Cristina García
Police stopped, questioned and frisked those suspected of carrying weapons or casing a business, dissuading the ill-intentioned from packing guns while reducing shootings.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 8, 2026
Once a key storage of wealth, home prices across the country have stagnated, dissuading would-be buyers from investing.
From Barron's ● Apr. 14, 2026
We understand that calling the principal himself an idiot wouldn’t be the most effective means of dissuading him from destructive ideas.
From Slate ● Jan. 17, 2026
After illegal border crossings reached historic highs in 2023, the administration utilized those discretionary programs in hopes of dissuading migrants from further overwhelming the U.S.-Mexico border.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 7, 2025
Had I succeeded in dissuading Hamlet from revenge?
From "Ophelia" by Lisa Klein
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.
