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.

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Vocabulary lists containing persuade

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Argumentative Writing

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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

Researcher and whistleblower Douglas Gowan spent 50 years trying to persuade authorities to investigate what he believed was widespread dumping of industrial chemicals.

From BBC ● Aug. 25, 2026

They are mainly designed to persuade multinationals away from making everything in China and Asia, and at the very least consider moving to North America, with hopes of greater investment in the U.S.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 22, 2026

More likely, it would persuade big business to pursue due diligence instead of profits over people and the environment.

From Salon ● Aug. 19, 2026

The ticking fee was an incentive to persuade Warner shareholders to support its bid for the company over rival suitor Netflix.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 17, 2026

If I wanted to persuade you of continental drift, for example, I would point you to the classic papers on paleomagnetism and we could then go and make our measurements in the field.

From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton

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

From Slate ● Mar. 6, 2026

Giving students real money to invest persuades them to do deeper research and be more risk-averse about possible picks, he adds.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 8, 2026

This withdrawal of liquidity is already causing some tensions in the repo market that have not been witnessed since 2019 and this persuades Howell that stocks are not the right asset allocation at this juncture.

From MarketWatch ● Nov. 21, 2025

The question now is whether a moment like this, following MI5's intervention, persuades others to share their outlook.

From BBC ● Nov. 19, 2025

Eventually, with the aid of several glasses of champagne, Tsukiko persuades her to abandon the effort, drawing her out into the sunken garden to distract her.

From "The Night Circus" by Erin Morgenstern

The day he died, the Jiang Zemin documentary featured Zhu explaining how he persuaded his comrades to implement tough reforms.

From BBC ● Aug. 18, 2026

It was Aimee who persuaded him to invest in somewhere more rural before they even married.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 12, 2026

Gilbert persuaded officials of his plan to revive the city: Instead of wooing office tenants, it would mean attracting young, educated residents with money to spend.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 5, 2026

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

Even though we hadn't yet persuaded a court to stay his execution, our efforts seemed to help him cope.

From "Just Mercy" by Bryan Stevenson

Last month, Green said his wife's encouragement was crucial in persuading him to accept the challenge after getting a call from JCB chairman Lord Anthony Bamford.

From BBC ● Aug. 12, 2026

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

One of the most talked about young players in England's academy system, director of football Jason Wilcox was personally involved in persuading Gabriel to remain at United last summer.

From BBC ● Jul. 23, 2026

It took some persuading, but “Cigawoo,” the Lord of Ashton Place finally conceded.

From "The Interrupted Tale" by Maryrose Wood

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