wheedle
verb (used with object)
to endeavor to influence (a person) by smooth, flattering, or beguiling words or acts.
wheedled
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past participleof wheedle.past participle
A verb form used in perfect and passive verb constructions and that can also function as a modifier.
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past tense formof wheedle.past tense
Used to describe completed actions or previous habitual actions.
wheedleverb (used with object)to endeavor to influence (a person) by smooth, flattering, or beguiling words or acts.
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.
His father, less a bully but now a user, had wheedled his way onto the set of “Rocky” and embarrassed him.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 9, 2026
Ask any nerd who wheedled her parents for a little more cash to buy books: What you get from Scholastic is what your parents are willing to buy you.
From Salon ● Oct. 23, 2023
Then he had the woman hand her phone to a visiting technician and wheedled the phone number of the department head out him.
From Washington Post ● Dec. 26, 2022
In 1855, Davis wheedled about $20,000 out of Congress, enough for a trip to the Mideast to buy 30-some camels and dromedaries and hire “cameleers.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 20, 2021
“Come on,” wheedled his father with a smile, “there must be something.”
From "Shooting Kabul" by N. H. Senzai
