Synonyms

persuade

American

[per-sweyd] / pərˈsweɪd /

verb (used with object)

to prevail on (a person) to do something, as by advising or urging.

We could not persuade him to wait.

Synonyms:

impel, entice, move, influence, urge

Antonyms:

dissuade
to induce to believe by appealing to reason or understanding; convince.

to persuade the judge of the prisoner's innocence.

persuade British

/ pəˈsweɪd /

verb

to induce, urge, or prevail upon successfully

he finally persuaded them to buy it
to cause to believe; convince

even with the evidence, the police were not persuaded

"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

Usage

See convince.

Synonym Usage

Persuade, induce imply influencing someone's thoughts or actions. They are used today mainly in the sense of winning over a person to a certain course of action: It was I who persuaded him to call a doctor. I induced him to do it. They differ in that persuade suggests appealing more to the reason and understanding: I persuaded him to go back to his wife (although it is often lightly used: Can't I persuade you to stay to supper? ); induce emphasizes only the idea of successful influence, whether achieved by argument or by promise of reward: What can I say that will induce you to stay at your job? Owing to this idea of compensation, induce may be used in reference to the influence of factors as well as of persons: The prospect of a raise in salary was what induced him to stay.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

Inflected Forms

Participles

Conjugated Forms

Present

Past

Future

Etymology

Origin of persuade

From the Latin word persuādēre, dating back to 1505–15. See per-, dissuade, suasion

Explanation

If you get talked into something, you've been persuaded. If your friends try to persuade you to swan-dive into a dangerous ravine, it's time to find some new friends. To persuade is to get your way — win the argument, convince the group to see your favorite movie, get your parents to let you borrow the car. You persuade with language, with a carefully constructed argument, and with the strength of your conviction. The word is sometimes used tongue-in-cheek to describe the very opposite of a carefully worded argument. A movie gangster might "persuade" people with the gun he keeps tucked in his pocket.

Keep Reading on Vocabulary.com

Vocabulary lists containing persuade

Jim Burke's Academic Vocabulary List

Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!

Argumentative Writing

Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!

Argumentative Writing, List 1

Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!

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:

persuade persuades persuaded persuading

As more companies fold, Yona hopes to persuade founders to make the decision while they still have cash in the bank.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 7, 2026

In a court hearing in December 2025, Bush's legal team tried to persuade the judge to throw his case out.

From BBC ● Aug. 2, 2026

A federal judge in California ordered the government to stop using “blatantly coercive” language to persuade immigrant children to self-deport.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 30, 2026

It’s the kind of PR win that climate groups trying to persuade governments to move to a new energy system never achieved.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 29, 2026

It took some convincing, but without her sons, Mrs. Diamant wasn’t as hard to persuade as I thought she might be.

From "The Light in Hidden Places" by Sharon Cameron

If none of this persuades you of the intrinsic greatness of this country, my fellow Americans, then at least use this historic moment to take a holiday from the bad stuff.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 1, 2026

This persuades Denyer that investing in U.S. grid plays, natural gas companies, as well as solar and wind, is a sensible strategy right now.

From MarketWatch ● May 8, 2026

Kolar explained that, besides actual innocence, “disproportionality is the second most powerful” argument that persuades clemency boards and governors.

From Slate ● Mar. 6, 2026

Though Aleys initially finds the Beguines “wanton” due to their “strange rites,” including casual dress and meetings, their charismatic leader, Grand Mistress Sophia Vermeulen, persuades Aleys of the group’s higher purpose.

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 4, 2026

Roza turns on some charm and persuades her to buy a pair of shoes, too.

From "What the Night Sings" by Vesper Stamper

It looked as though the vendor had raided a secret convention of 1990s elementary-school teachers and persuaded them to turn in their uniforms.

From Salon ● Aug. 4, 2026

But a concerned relative persuaded her to join a campaign to give up alcohol during Khao Phansa, a three-month period of reflection observed by Buddhists akin to Christian Lent.

From Barron's ● Aug. 3, 2026

Even after realizing that it was probably dealing with the live internet, the AI persuaded itself to continue to get email, phone numbers and access to money.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 1, 2026

He persuaded many Irish stars, including Sinead O'Connor and members of U2, to join him in busking for cash in central Dublin.

From BBC ● Jul. 30, 2026

L’Hôpital was so enthralled by the new mathematics that he persuaded Bernoulli to send him all Bernoulli’s new mathematical discoveries for the marquis to use as he desired, in return for cash.

From "Zero: The Biography of a Dangerous Idea" by Charles Seife

Sometimes the best solution isn’t persuading someone to change their mind — it’s realizing you don’t need them to bend to your will.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 1, 2026

The biggest challenge has been persuading fishermen to stop catching one of their most valuable species.

From Barron's ● Jul. 23, 2026

A lot of the day-to-day work for a champion like Glazer involves knocking on colleagues’ doors and persuading them to actually try the tools in the first place.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 8, 2026

It's named after the feted New York club where Madonna got an early break by persuading DJ Mark Kamins to play her debut single, Everybody.

From BBC ● Jun. 26, 2026

Her argument did not seem to be persuading him.

From "The Serpent King" by Jeff Zentner

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023