dissuade
Americanverb (used with object)
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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
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.
Hadst thou broached Thy little plan to me, Dissuade thee if I could not, sweet, I might have aided thee.
From Poems by Emily Dickinson, Three Series, Complete by Dickinson, Emily
Shakespeare makes a distinction between wits and senses: “But my five wits, nor my five senses can Dissuade one foolish heart from serving thee.”
From Folk-lore of Shakespeare by Thiselton-Dyer, Thomas Firminger
Dissuade, dis-swād′, v.t. to advise against: to try to divert from anything by advice or persuasion: to succeed in persuading not to.—ns.
From Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary (part 1 of 4: A-D) by Various
Hadst thou broached Thy little plan to me, Dissuade thee if I could not, sweet, I might have aided thee.
From Poems by Emily Dickinson, Third Series by Todd, Mabel Loomis
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.
