Word family noun persuasion ≠ dissuasion persuasiveness adjective persuasive verb persuade ≠ dissuade adverb persuasively
From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishpersuadeper‧suade /pəˈsweɪd $ pər-/ ●●● S3 W2 verb [transitive] 1 PERSUADEto make someone decide to do something, especially by giving them reasons why they should do it, or asking them many times to do itpersuade somebody to do something I finally managed to persuade her to go out for a drink with me.persuade somebody into doing something Don’t let yourself be persuaded into buying things you don’t want.try/manage/fail to persuade somebody I’m trying to persuade your dad to buy some shares.attempt/effort to persuade somebody Leo wouldn’t agree, despite our efforts to persuade him.little/a lot of/no persuading He took a lot of persuading to come out of retirement (=it was hard to persuade him). He was fairly easily persuaded.2 PERSUADEto make someone believe something or feel sure about something SYN convince I am not persuaded by these arguments.persuade somebody (that) She’ll only take me back if I can persuade her that I’ve changed.persuade somebody of something McFadden must persuade the jury of her innocence.THESAURUSpersuade to make someone decide to do something, especially by giving them reasons why they should do it, or asking them many times to do itI persuaded her to change her mind.Do you think you can persuade him to lend us the money?talk somebody into (doing) something to persuade someone to do something, especially something they do not really want to doWhy did I let you talk me into this?He finally talked her into going on a date with him.get somebody to do something to make someone do something by persuading or asking themIf we can’t get a taxi I’ll get Joe to pick us up.I know how to get you to kiss me.convince to persuade someone that they should do something, because it is the best or the right thing to do. Some British speakers think this use is incorrect, and prefer to use persuadeIt would be difficult to convince him to move.encourage to try to persuade someone to do something, especially because you think it will be good for themChildren should be encouraged to read all kinds of books.influence to have an effect on what someone decides to doWhat influences you to buy clothes?coax to persuade someone to do something by talking gently and kindlyI tried to coax him to eat a little.cajole /kəˈdʒəʊl $ -ˈdʒoʊl/ to persuade someone to do something by praising them or making promises to themHe hoped to cajole her into selling her house.put somebody up to something to persuade or encourage someone to do something wrong or stupidWho put you up to this?dissuade formal to persuade someone not to do somethingHow do you dissuade young people from experimenting with drugs? → See Verb tableExamples from the Corpus
persuade• Maguire said he was not persuaded by criticisms in the media.• Neil didn't want to come at first, but we persuaded him.• I tried to persuade his ex-girlfriend to talk to him, but she said no.• As a result, she persuaded Jeff to seek professional counselling.• He eventually managed to persuade me that the documents were genuine.• Incidentally, how did you persuade Michael Heseltine to write it for you?• Teachers need ways to persuade more parents to attend parent-teacher evenings.• It will persuade our big men to turn honest after elections and trust to the mercy of the jury.• After this accident, it will be difficult for the government to persuade people that nuclear power stations are safe.• It is difficult to persuade the Court of Appeal to alter a finding of direct fact by the trial judge.• He was convicted of the murder, but he is still trying to persuade the public that he's innocent.• In response, the chief executive needs to establish a clear vision and persuade the top team to accept that vision.• Some patients report troubles persuading their managed-care health plans to provide cutting-edge care.• We want to persuade them of the value of diplomacy and talks to resolve disputes.• They have to be persuaded to buy a stock, or indeed, sell it.• Probably these men were persuaded to relinquish their rights for a sum of money in lieu.persuade somebody to do something• I tried to persuade Freddie to see her.persuade somebody (that)• She'll only take me back if I can persuade her that I've changed.Origin persuade (1500-1600) Latin persuadere, from suadere “to advise” 