persuasion

American  

[per-swey-zhuhn] / pərˈsweɪ ʒən /

noun

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.

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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

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Related Words

See advice.

Other Word Forms

• prepersuasion noun
• self-persuasion noun

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

Example Sentences

That approach lowers the stakes of confrontation but reinforces the idea that the primary goal is expression rather than persuasion.

From The Wall Street Journal

After some persuasion, the Walker had returned the rest of their weapons, and sent them on their way.

From Literature

America has to find a way to restart diplomacy, using soft power and persuasion more often than the blunt force of tariffs or threat of conflict with key partners.

From MarketWatch

My travel agent couldn’t believe what resulted from my powers of persuasion.

From MarketWatch

A challenge for politicians of all persuasions between now and 7 May will be to demonstrate that the devolved institutions they hope to run do, and should, matter.

From BBC

Related Words

• belief
• creed
• denomination