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.

Bunni, who helped gather witnesses to testify in these court cases, says one of his biggest challenges had been persuading frightened Syrians to go public.

From BBC • Jan. 28, 2022

His top priority had been persuading state and city leaders to fund the agency’s roughly $29 billion capital spending plan to pay for the system’s maintenance and expansion.

From New York Times • Jan. 2, 2017

For fifty years he had been persuading himself that he was a righteous man, and the conviction was now so firmly impressed upon his very soul that nothing could ever shake it.

From The Firm of Girdlestone by Doyle, Arthur Conan, Sir

We were in the play-room, and I had been persuading her to try her hand—or feet—at roller skating.

From Uncanny Tales by Molesworth, Mrs. Mary Louisa

He had been bilious, but rich men were often bilious, and therefore he had been persuading himself that he was a man of property. 

From Bleak House by Dickens, Charles