suasion
Americannoun
-
the act of advising, urging, or attempting to persuade; persuasion.
-
an instance of this; a persuasive effort.
noun
Other Word Forms
- suasive adjective
- suasively adverb
- suasiveness noun
- suasory adjective
Etymology
Origin of suasion
1325–75; Middle English < Latin suāsiōn- (stem of suāsiō ), equivalent to suās ( us ), past participle of suādēre to advise ( suād-, verb stem + -tus past participle suffix, with dt > s ) + -iōn- -ion
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.
All that remains may be the power of public suasion, but Gilead hasn’t demonstrated much sensitivity to such pressure.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 9, 2026
We’ve tried being nice, talking tough, moral suasion, negotiated agreement, economic sanctions.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 12, 2026
You have a voice in it — a voice that can be amplified by suasion — but so do your neighbors.
From New York Times • Aug. 3, 2021
They use scale, narrative and moral suasion to shape public opinion and collective identity.
From Washington Post • Nov. 25, 2020
But out of kindliness one may take a gentler method with them, and try to bring them right by æsthetic suasion.
From The Three Devils: Luther's, Milton's, and Goethe's With Other Essays by Masson, David
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.