persuade
Americanverb (used with object)
verb
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to induce, urge, or prevail upon successfully
he finally persuaded them to buy it
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to cause to believe; convince
even with the evidence, the police were not persuaded
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
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persuadablyadverb
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well-persuadedadjective
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nonpersuadableadjective
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prepersuadeverb (used with object)
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persuadabilitynoun
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persuadinglyadverb
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unpersuadedadjective
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persuadableadjective
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unpersuadableadjective
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persuadernoun
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persuadablenessnoun
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unpersuadablyadverb
Conjugated Forms
Present
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have persuadedperfect
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has persuadedperfect 3rd person singular
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have been persuadingperfect progressive
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has been persuadingperfect progressive 3rd person singular
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are persuadingprogressive
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persuadessingular 3rd person
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am persuadingprogressive 1st person singular
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persuadingparticiple
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is persuadingprogressive 3rd person singular
Past
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had persuadedperfect
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were persuadingprogressive plural
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persuadedparticiple
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persuadedsimple
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was persuadingprogressive singular
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had been persuadingperfect progressive
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.
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.
Did Grainge try to persuade the band to stay?
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 5, 2026
That includes working with the United Nations to persuade Iran to allow ships carrying ingredients for fertilizers to pass safely as a gesture to African nations facing a food crisis, said one official.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 2, 2026
Thomas wanted the court to hear them but failed to persuade his colleagues to agree.
From Slate • Jun. 2, 2026
Supporters hope that getting governments behind the technology could finally persuade investors to bet on it.
From Barron's • May 31, 2026
Mutti and I were trying to help him up, doing all we could to persuade him that we had to get back to the shelter.
From "An Elephant in the Garden" by Michael Morpurgo
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
