induce

American  

[in-doos, -dyoos] / ɪnˈdus, -ˈdjus /

verb (used with object)

• induces,
  present (3rd person singular)
• induced,
  past participle,  past
• inducing
  present participle

1. to lead or move by persuasion or influence, as to some action or state of mind.

   to induce a person to buy a raffle ticket.

   Synonyms:

   spur, urge, incite, prompt, actuate

   Antonyms:

   dissuade

2. to bring about, produce, or cause.

   That medicine will induce sleep.

3. Physics. to produce (an electric current) by induction.

4. Logic. to assert or establish (a proposition about a class of phenomena) on the basis of observations on a number of particular facts.

5. Genetics. to increase expression of (a gene) by inactivating a negative control system or activating a positive control system; derepress.

6. Biochemistry. to stimulate the synthesis of (a protein, especially an enzyme) by increasing gene transcription.

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induce British  

/ ɪnˈdjuːs /

verb

1. (often foll by an infinitive) to persuade or use influence on

2. to cause or bring about

3. med to initiate or hasten (labour), as by administering a drug to stimulate uterine contractions

4. obsolete logic to assert or establish (a general proposition, hypothesis, etc) by induction

5. to produce (an electromotive force or electrical current) by induction

6. to transmit (magnetism) by induction

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Synonym Usage

See persuade.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• inducer
  noun
• preinduce
  verb (used with object)
• reinduce
  verb (used with object)
• inducible
  adjective
• noninducible
  adjective
• uninducible
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Participles

• inducing
  present
• induced
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• induce
  simple
• induces
  simple
• have induced
  perfect
• has induced
  perfect
• am inducing
  progressive
• are inducing
  progressive
• is inducing
  progressive
• have been inducing
  perfect progressive
• has been inducing
  perfect progressive

Past

• induced
  simple
• had induced
  perfect
• was inducing
  progressive
• were inducing
  progressive
• had been inducing
  perfect progressive

Future

• will induce
  simple
• will have induced
  perfect
• will be inducing
  progressive
• will have been inducing
  perfect progressive

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Etymology

Origin of induce

First recorded in 1325–75; Middle English, from Latin indūcere “to lead or bring in, introduce,” equivalent to in- in- ² + dūcere “to lead”; cf. adduce, deduce, reduce

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Explanation

To induce is to move or lead someone to action. A promise of a lollipop can induce a toddler to do just about anything, even sit down and be polite to Aunt Edna. Older kids need something more substantial. Some people believe that if you offer someone a large enough sum of money, you could induce them to do almost anything. But a movie heroine might say to the villain, "Nothing could induce me to marry you. Not all the money in the world. Not if you were the last man on Earth!" Induce also means to stimulate the occurrence of something, such as medications used to induce vomiting, or to induce a pregnant woman to go into labor.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

induce induces induced inducing

"It's a social emotion because memories that induce nostalgia for us are connected to other people," he explains, adding that nostalgia can boost our self-esteem while highlighting key social bonds.

From BBC ● Oct. 30, 2026

“To induce users to provide their personal information to Facebook, Facebook made many false promises respecting the security and control of that data over the course of more than a decade.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 21, 2026

“I think that would induce a recession which would eventually drive down yields.”

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 30, 2026

"This promotes production of the metabolite N1-acetylspermidine, which contributes to the ability of butyrate-treated IEC-conditioned medium to induce IL-10 production in CD4⁺ T-cells."

From Science Daily ● Aug. 21, 2026

At that time it was believed that insecticides — then inorganic chemicals — would solve the problems of insect control, that the only task was to induce fruit growers to follow the recommended methods.

From "Silent Spring" by Rachel Carson

If you’ve never been in a Dulles people mover, you might be puzzled by the white-hot hatred it induces.

From Slate ● Aug. 18, 2026

It is used in combination with a second drug misoprostol, which induces cramping.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 14, 2026

Poornima, a salt pan worker, sips black tea during the day -- saying the hot drink induces sweating in the dry weather to cool the body.

From Barron's ● May 10, 2026

Their insight: Outcome-based penalties only work when embedded in a menu that first induces honest self-selection.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 20, 2026

It induces a kind of psychological claustrophobia that makes one yearn not only for freedom of movement but spiritual escape.

From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela

A woman who went into medically induced menopause immediately after breast cancer treatment has described the experience as "horrible".

From BBC ● Nov. 2, 2026

Meanwhile, induced neurons derived from female participants showed an increase in autophagy with age.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 13, 2026

When she went into labour, Katie was induced and then "we were left in a room for long periods of time where I had no care," she explained.

From BBC ● Oct. 8, 2026

Then he induced Ronald Acuña Jr. to ground out to second to escape the jam.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 7, 2026

They knew that it was essentially a liquid which could be induced to flow slowly toward cooing and light.

From "Slaughterhouse-Five" by Kurt Vonnegut

Since the founding of the Soviet Union, Moscow’s security services have relied on inducing people they wished to arrest into committing some hostile or unlawful act in order to arrest them.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 25, 2026

But Snell avoided further damage by inducing Jordan Beck to fly out and Cole Carrigg to strike out.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 18, 2026

The centre of this anticyclone will shift eastwards on Tuesday, inducing warm south-easterly flows across much of the UK, with a lot of dry weather.

From BBC ● Aug. 7, 2026

The reasons range widely, from the need to protect manufacturing for defense purposes, to inducing trading partners to lower their trade barriers.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 26, 2026

And the meager fare at Mother Palmer’s boardinghouse up on the bluff was proving downright starvation inducing this year.

From "The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics" by Daniel James Brown

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Related Words

• activate
• breed
• bring about
• cause
• coax
• convince
• engender
• generate
• lead to
• motivate
• persuade
• produce
• promote
• prompt
• urge

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