persuade

American  

[per-sweyd] / pərˈsweɪd /

verb (used with object)

persuaded, persuading

1. 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

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

   to persuade the judge of the prisoner's innocence.

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persuade British  

/ pəˈsweɪd /

verb

1. to induce, urge, or prevail upon successfully

   he finally persuaded them to buy it

2. to cause to believe; convince

   even with the evidence, the police were not persuaded

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Usage

See convince.

Related Words

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

• nonpersuadable adjective
• persuadability noun
• persuadable adjective
• persuadableness noun
• persuadably adverb
• persuader noun
• persuadingly adverb
• prepersuade verb (used with object)
• unpersuadable adjective
• unpersuadably adverb
• unpersuaded adjective
• well-persuaded adjective

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.

Example Sentences

Austerity is rarely popular, so Milei must persuade voters of its necessity before they feel its benefits—a task that depends heavily on maintaining public trust in his government.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 17, 2026

But more happened behind the scenes, like the meeting that helped persuade Barr to hold the line.

From Salon • Apr. 14, 2026

After being interviewed by the police about the allegations, Becerra tried to persuade a school board employee who went on the Las Vegas trip with him to say he had lost his phone.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 9, 2026

I’m not here to persuade you to fly if it frightens you that much.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 9, 2026

Morgan Stanley had done as much as any Wall Street firm to persuade the rating agencies to treat consumer loans as they treated corporate ones—as assets whose risks could be dramatically reduced if bundled together.

From "The Big Short" by Michael Lewis

Related Words

• advise
• assure
• cajole
• coax
• enlist
• entice
• exhort
• get
• impress
• incline
• induce
• influence
• prompt
• satisfy
• sway
• urge
• woo