persuasion

American  

[per-swey-zhuhn] / pərˈsweɪ ʒən /

noun

persuasions plural

1. the act of persuading or seeking to persuade.

2. the power of persuading; persuasive force.

3. the state or fact of being persuaded or convinced.

4. a deep conviction or belief.

5. a form or system of belief, especially religious belief.

   the Quaker persuasion.

6. a sect, group, or faction holding or advocating a particular belief, idea, ideology, etc..

   Several of the people present are of the socialist persuasion.

7. Facetious. kind or sort.

---

persuasion British  

/ pəˈsweɪʒən /

noun

1. the act of persuading or of trying to persuade

2. the power to persuade

3. the state of being persuaded; strong belief

4. an established creed or belief, esp a religious one

5. a sect, party, or faction

---

Synonym Usage

See advice.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• prepersuasion
  noun
• self-persuasion
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• persuasions
  plural

Etymology

Origin of persuasion

First recorded in 1350–1400; late Middle English, from Latin persuāsiōn-, stem of persuāsiō; equivalent to per- + suasion; replacing Middle English persuacioun, from Middle French persuacion, from Latin, as above

Explanation

Persuasion is something meant to get you to do or believe something. If you’re not sure you want to go somewhere, your friend might use persuasion to talk you into it. Being of a certain persuasion or belief, means you already have your mind made up, as a person who is of the Democratic persuasion or the Lutheran persuasion. Another meaning for persuasion is the act of influencing someone to do something or to change their mind. For example, good salespeople use persuasion to get people to buy things, just as children use persuasion to get permission to do certain things.

Example Sentences

The only event that seemed more oriented toward entertainment than persuasion was the log-cutting competition.

From Slate • Jul. 1, 2026

As AI takes on more codifiable knowledge work, the premium will shift toward judgment, persuasion and coordination, capabilities that are inherently interpersonal.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 10, 2026

Whether owners can get a cap — either by persuasion through the fall and winter, or more likely by canceling games next spring so players go unpaid — remains to be seen.

From Los Angeles Times • May 28, 2026

Politics is about persuasion, seduction even, and prime ministers seem to have forgotten this is an almost constant process of wooing voters, MPs and civil servants to keep them driving your agenda forward.

From BBC • May 16, 2026

Gia used to be good at persuasion with her fellow Marvellers, and especially Fewel folks.

From "The Marvellers" by Dhonielle Clayton

Related Words

• belief
• creed
• denomination