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Synonyms

persuade

American

[per-swayd] / 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.

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Vocabulary lists containing persuade

Jim Burke's Academic Vocabulary List

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Argumentative Writing

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Argumentative 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:

persuade persuades persuaded persuading

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth rolled out several good U.S. military initiatives on Wednesday, and usually the purpose of big speeches is to persuade the public of worthy ideas.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 1, 2026

The gap between services on paper and on the ground was stark: the state response came weeks after deaths began, while health teams struggled to reach and persuade families.

From BBC ● Sep. 30, 2026

Meanwhile, the quality of local brands has improved, making it hard for foreign companies to persuade Chinese consumers to pay up.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 28, 2026

The Times: You tried last year to persuade the L.A.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 20, 2026

After Barack’s election, I was able to persuade her to move to Washington and work with me as a personal aide and wardrobe stylist.

From "Becoming" by Michelle Obama

If Silicon Valley has perfected any business model, it’s the one in which it cooks up a new technology and then persuades people they can’t live without it.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 2, 2026

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 is exactly the kind of hype that drives bubbles and persuades ordinary members of the public to take on more risk than they should.

From MarketWatch ● May 27, 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

Finally Dorus persuades Vincent to use the hut only during the day.

From "Vincent and Theo: The Van Gogh Brothers" by Deborah Heiligman

That’s right: Oprah Winfrey persuaded her followers to buy a cylindrical glass container holding paper and air, for $45.

From Salon ● Sep. 27, 2026

The AA said its campaigning had persuaded the UK government to set up pump-price transparency.

From BBC ● Sep. 25, 2026

Ultimately, the crisis on the street persuaded me to leave a very comfortable job.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 20, 2026

That improvement persuaded L.A.'s Natural History Museum to provide tiny portions of two teeth belonging to Thomas the T. rex, the most complete of the towering tyrannosaur skeletons displayed in the museum's dinosaur hall.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 20, 2026

Anna was a financial burden on her father, so a bishop persuaded her to marry a rich farmer as his second wife.

From "Educated" by Tara Westover

His most impressive achievement, however, has been persuading people to pay more for his stock than his holdings of Bitcoin are worth.

From Slate ● Sep. 20, 2026

"Overall, I believe this will give me and future prime ministers a better chance of persuading capable Singaporeans to step forward, and of building the strongest possible team for Singapore," he said.

From BBC ● Sep. 8, 2026

It may have played a part in persuading him to forgo his greatest political opportunity.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 3, 2026

Proponents may face an uphill battle persuading Newsom to sign the bill, which creates a unique revenue stream to pay for the program.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 1, 2026

Unsettled, I quicken my pace, eventually persuading an elderly Plebeian man to direct me to Teluman's forge.

From "An Ember in the Ashes" by Sabaa Tahir

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