Definition of the word persuade

transitive verb

1

: to move by argument, entreaty, or expostulation to a belief, position, or course of action

Synonyms

Example Sentences



He persuaded his friend to go back to school.



She couldn’t be persuaded to go.



He would not let himself be persuaded into buying the more expensive stereo.



I am not easily persuaded.



They persuaded us that we were wrong.



He persuaded himself that he had made the right choice.

See More

Recent Examples on the Web

Her mother was not immediately persuaded by Charlotte’s arguments, but her older brother Adolphus had intervened.


Maureen Lee Lenker, EW.com, 5 Apr. 2023





Putin was in fact emboldened by our flexibility, not persuaded.


Simone Mccarthy, CNN, 5 Apr. 2023





Murphy said the implementation of the new law, and some of its early successes, will ultimately persuade Republicans to get on board with more legislation.


Mary Clare Jalonick, Chron, 1 Apr. 2023





As climate communicators like Hochachka know well, facts and data such as these do not persuade those who don’t see the problem and can be mighty discouraging to those who do.


Ginny Whitelaw, Forbes, 1 Apr. 2023





But some of the justices, particularly on the court’s right, did not seem fully persuaded by Hansen’s arguments.


Matt Ford, The New Republic, 30 Mar. 2023





Individuals and institutions must still be persuaded to report their births and deaths in this way.


Jeneen Interlandi, New York Times, 29 Mar. 2023





The judges said they were not persuaded by that argument, ruling victims do not have a right to substantive participation in such hearings.


CBS News, 28 Mar. 2023





The judges said they were not persuaded by that argument, ruling victims do not have a right to substantive participation in such hearings.


Brian Witte And Lea Skene, Anchorage Daily News, 28 Mar. 2023



See More

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word ‘persuade.’ Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Latin persuadēre, from per- thoroughly + suadēre to advise, urge — more at sweet

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler

The first known use of persuade was
in the 15th century

Dictionary Entries Near persuade

Cite this Entry

“Persuade.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/persuade. Accessed 13 Apr. 2023.

Share

More from Merriam-Webster on persuade

Last Updated:
11 Apr 2023
— Updated example sentences

Subscribe to America’s largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Merriam-Webster unabridged


Also found in: Thesaurus, Medical, Legal, Idioms, Encyclopedia, Wikipedia.

per·suade

 (pər-swād′)

tr.v. per·suad·ed, per·suad·ing, per·suades

To cause (someone) to accept a point of view or to undertake a course of action by means of argument, reasoning, or entreaty: «to make children fit to live in a society by persuading them to learn and accept its codes» (Alan W. Watts). See Usage Note at convince.



per·suad′a·ble adj.

per·suad′er n.

Synonyms: persuade, induce, prevail, convince
These verbs mean to succeed in causing a person to do or consent to something. Persuade means to win someone over, as by reasoning or force of personality: Nothing could persuade her to change her mind. To induce is to lead, as to a course of action, by means of influence or persuasion: «Pray what could induce him to commit so rash an action?» (Oliver Goldsmith).
One prevails on somebody who resists: «He had prevailed upon the king to spare them» (Daniel Defoe).
To convince is to persuade by the use of argument or evidence: The salesman convinced me that the car was worth the price.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

persuade

(pəˈsweɪd)

vb (tr; may take a clause as object or an infinitive)

1. to induce, urge, or prevail upon successfully: he finally persuaded them to buy it.

2. to cause to believe; convince: even with the evidence, the police were not persuaded.

[C16: from Latin persuādēre, from per- (intensive) + suādēre to urge, advise]

perˈsuadable, perˈsuasible adj

perˌsuadaˈbility, perˌsuasiˈbility n

perˈsuader n

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

per•suade

(pərˈsweɪd)

v.t. -suad•ed, -suad•ing.

1. to prevail on (a person) to do something, as by advising or urging.

2. to induce to believe; convince.

[1505–15; < Latin persuādēre. See per-, dissuade]

per•suad′a•ble, adj.

per•suad`a•bil′i•ty, n.

syn: persuade, induce imply influencing someone’s thoughts or actions. They are used mainly in the sense of winning over a person to a certain course of action: I persuaded her to call a doctor. I induced her to join the club. They differ in that persuade suggests appealing more to the reason and understanding: I persuaded him to go back to work; induce emphasizes only the idea of successful influence, whether achieved by argument or promise of reward: What can I say that will induce you to stay at your job? Owing to this idea of compensation, induce may be used in reference to the influence of factors as well as of persons: The prospect of a raise induced me to stay.

Random House Kernerman Webster’s College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.

convince

persuade

1. ‘convince’

If you convince someone of something, you make them believe it is true.

These experiences convinced me of the drug’s harmful effects.

It took them a few days to convince me that it was possible.

Some speakers use convince with a to-infinitive to say that one person makes another person decide to do something, by giving them a good reason for doing it.

Lyon did his best to convince me to settle in Tennessee.

I hope you will help me convince my father to leave.

2. ‘persuade’

Using ‘convince’ in this way is generally regarded as incorrect. Instead you should use persuade.

Marsha was trying to persuade Posy to change her mind.

They had no difficulty in persuading him to launch a new paper.

Collins COBUILD English Usage © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 2004, 2011, 2012

persuade

Past participle: persuaded
Gerund: persuading

Imperative
persuade
persuade
Present
I persuade
you persuade
he/she/it persuades
we persuade
you persuade
they persuade
Preterite
I persuaded
you persuaded
he/she/it persuaded
we persuaded
you persuaded
they persuaded
Present Continuous
I am persuading
you are persuading
he/she/it is persuading
we are persuading
you are persuading
they are persuading
Present Perfect
I have persuaded
you have persuaded
he/she/it has persuaded
we have persuaded
you have persuaded
they have persuaded
Past Continuous
I was persuading
you were persuading
he/she/it was persuading
we were persuading
you were persuading
they were persuading
Past Perfect
I had persuaded
you had persuaded
he/she/it had persuaded
we had persuaded
you had persuaded
they had persuaded
Future
I will persuade
you will persuade
he/she/it will persuade
we will persuade
you will persuade
they will persuade
Future Perfect
I will have persuaded
you will have persuaded
he/she/it will have persuaded
we will have persuaded
you will have persuaded
they will have persuaded
Future Continuous
I will be persuading
you will be persuading
he/she/it will be persuading
we will be persuading
you will be persuading
they will be persuading
Present Perfect Continuous
I have been persuading
you have been persuading
he/she/it has been persuading
we have been persuading
you have been persuading
they have been persuading
Future Perfect Continuous
I will have been persuading
you will have been persuading
he/she/it will have been persuading
we will have been persuading
you will have been persuading
they will have been persuading
Past Perfect Continuous
I had been persuading
you had been persuading
he/she/it had been persuading
we had been persuading
you had been persuading
they had been persuading
Conditional
I would persuade
you would persuade
he/she/it would persuade
we would persuade
you would persuade
they would persuade
Past Conditional
I would have persuaded
you would have persuaded
he/she/it would have persuaded
we would have persuaded
you would have persuaded
they would have persuaded

Collins English Verb Tables © HarperCollins Publishers 2011

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Verb 1. persuade — win approval or support for; «Carry all before one»; «His speech did not sway the voters»

carry — win in an election; «The senator carried his home state»

act upon, influence, work — have and exert influence or effect; «The artist’s work influenced the young painter»; «She worked on her friends to support the political candidate»

2. persuade — cause somebody to adopt a certain position, belief, or course of action; twist somebody’s arm; «You can’t persuade me to buy this ugly vase!»

hustle — pressure or urge someone into an action

bring around, bring round — cause to adopt an opinion or course of action; «His urgent letter finally brought me around to give money to the school»

badger — persuade through constant efforts

sell — persuade somebody to accept something; «The French try to sell us their image as great lovers»

chat up — talk to someone with the aim of persuading him

talk into — persuade somebody to do something

rope in — draw in as if with a rope; lure; «The agent had roped in several customers»

convince, win over, convert — make (someone) agree, understand, or realize the truth or validity of something; «He had finally convinced several customers of the advantages of his product»

brainwash — persuade completely, often through coercion; «The propaganda brainwashed many people»

cause, induce, stimulate, make, get, have — cause to do; cause to act in a specified manner; «The ads induced me to buy a VCR»; «My children finally got me to buy a computer»; «My wife made me buy a new sofa»

assure — assure somebody of the truth of something with the intention of giving the listener confidence; «I assured him that traveling to Cambodia was safe»

influence, tempt, charm — induce into action by using one’s charm; «She charmed him into giving her all his money»

prevail — use persuasion successfully; «He prevailed upon her to visit his parents»

drag — persuade to come away from something attractive or interesting; «He dragged me away from the television set»

tempt — try presumptuously; «St. Anthony was tempted in the desert»

score, make — induce to have sex; «Harry finally seduced Sally»; «Did you score last night?»; «Harry made Sally»

dissuade, deter — turn away from by persuasion; «Negative campaigning will only dissuade people»

Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.

persuade

verb

1. talk (someone) into, urge, advise, prompt, influence, counsel, win (someone) over, induce, sway, entice, coax, incite, prevail upon, inveigle, bring (someone) round (informal), twist (someone’s) arm, argue (someone) into My husband persuaded me to come.
talk (someone) into forbid, discourage, prohibit, deter, dissuade

2. cause, prompt, lead, move, influence, motivate, induce, incline, dispose, impel, actuate the event which persuaded the United States to enter the war

Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

persuade

verb

1. To succeed in causing (a person) to act in a certain way:

2. To cause (another) to believe or feel sure about something:

The American Heritage® Roget’s Thesaurus. Copyright © 2013, 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Translations

اقنعيَحْمِلُ على التَّصْديق، يُقْنِعيُقْنِعيُقْنِعُ

убеждавам

přemluvitpřesvědčit

overtaleoverbevise

suostutellataivuttaa

uvjeriti

rábeszél

sannfæra e-n meîtelja e-n á e-î

説得する

설득하다

persuadeo

įkalbinėjimasįtikinamaiįtikinamumasįtikinėjimas

pārliecinātpierunāt

a convinge

pregovoritiprepričati

övertalaövertyga

ชักจูง

thuyết phục

Collins Spanish Dictionary — Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

persuade

[pərˈsweɪd] vt

to persuade sb that … → persuader qn que …

Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

persuade

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995

persuade

(pəˈsweid) verb

1. to make (someone) (not) do something, by arguing with him or advising him. We persuaded him (not) to go.

2. to make (someone) certain (that something is the case); to convince. We eventually persuaded him that we were serious.

perˈsuasion (-ʒən) noun

the act of persuading. He gave in to our persuasion and did what we wanted him to do.

perˈsuasive (-siv) adjective

able to persuade. He is a persuasive speaker; His arguments are persuasive.

perˈsuasively adverbperˈsuasiveness noun

Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary © 2006-2013 K Dictionaries Ltd.

persuade

يُقْنِعُ přemluvit overtale überreden πείθω persuadir suostutella persuader uvjeriti convincere 説得する 설득하다 overreden overtale przekonać persuadir убеждать övertala ชักจูง ikna etme thuyết phục 说服

Multilingual Translator © HarperCollins Publishers 2009

persuade

vt. persuadir, convencer, determinar.

English-Spanish Medical Dictionary © Farlex 2012

Mentioned in
?

  • act upon
  • argue
  • arm-twisting
  • artillery
  • assure
  • bargain down
  • bell ringing
  • blarney
  • bring
  • bring about
  • bring around
  • bring down
  • bring forth
  • bring in
  • bring off
  • bring on
  • bring out
  • bring up
  • cajole

References in classic literature
?

Agafea Mihalovna, speaking of the man just dead, had said: «Well, thank God, he took the sacrament and received absolution; God grant each one of us such a death.» Katya in just the same way, besides all her care about linen, bedsores, drink, found time the very first day to persuade the sick man of the necessity of taking the sacrament and receiving absolution.

How can there be any human understanding that can persuade itself there ever was all that infinity of Amadises in the world, or all that multitude of famous knights, all those emperors of Trebizond, all those Felixmartes of Hircania, all those palfreys, and damsels-errant, and serpents, and monsters, and giants, and marvellous adventures, and enchantments of every kind, and battles, and prodigious encounters, splendid costumes, love-sick princesses, squires made counts, droll dwarfs, love letters, billings and cooings, swashbuckler women, and, in a word, all that nonsense the books of chivalry contain?

May there not be the alternative, I said, that we may persuade you to let us go?

«Captain Granet is trying to persuade you to leave London this evening?» Thomson asked quietly.

She is perfectly well-bred, indeed, and has the air of a woman of fashion, but her manners are not such as can persuade me of her being prepossessed in my favour.

If a man deal with another upon conditions, the start or first performance is all; which a man cannot reasonably demand, except either the nature of the thing be such, which must go before; or else a man can persuade the other party, that he shall still need him in some other thing; or else that he be counted the honester man.

SOCRATES: Let us consider the matter together, and do you either refute me if you can, and I will be convinced; or else cease, my dear friend, from repeating to me that I ought to escape against the wishes of the Athenians: for I highly value your attempts to persuade me to do so, but I may not be persuaded against my own better judgment.

During her illness many arguments had been urged to persuade my mother to refrain from attending upon her.

O my soul, I taught thee so to persuade that thou persuadest even the grounds themselves to thee: like the sun, which persuadeth even the sea to its height.

«If we can persuade your father to all this,» said Lady Russell, looking over her paper, «much may be done.

He made no reply, and was beginning to talk of something else; but she eagerly continued, «Why do not you persuade him to go away?

Well, though I may not be able to persuade you into different feelings, you will be persuaded into them, I trust.

Dictionary browser
?

  • Perspicable
  • perspicacious
  • perspicaciousness
  • perspicacity
  • Perspicacy
  • Perspicience
  • Perspicil
  • perspicuity
  • perspicuous
  • perspicuously
  • perspicuousness
  • Perspirability
  • perspirable
  • perspiration
  • Perspirative
  • perspiratory
  • perspire
  • perspirer
  • perspiring
  • perspiry
  • Persson
  • perst
  • Perstreperous
  • perstringe
  • persuadable
  • persuade
  • persuaded
  • persuader
  • persuasibility
  • persuasible
  • persuasion
  • persuasive
  • persuasively
  • persuasiveness
  • Persuasory
  • persulphate
  • Persulphide
  • Persulphocyanate
  • Persulphocyanic
  • Persulphocyanogen
  • Persulphuret
  • persulphuric acid
  • pert
  • Pert Candace Beebe
  • pertain
  • pertain to
  • pertaining
  • pertainym
  • Perterebration
  • Perth
  • Perth and Kinross

Full browser
?

  • PERSREP
  • PERSRU
  • PERSS
  • PERSSO
  • Persson
  • Persson, Goran
  • Persson, Göran
  • Persson, Peer
  • PERSSPT
  • Perst
  • PERSTAT
  • PERSTATR
  • PERSTATREP
  • PERSTEMPO
  • PERSTEMPO Group Event
  • perstillation
  • perstillation
  • perstillation
  • perstillation
  • Perstreperous
  • Perstringe
  • persuadability
  • persuadability
  • persuadability
  • persuadable
  • persuadable
  • persuadable
  • persuadable
  • persuadablely
  • persuadablely
  • persuade
  • persuade (one) of (something)
  • persuade (one) to (do something)
  • persuade (someone) of
  • persuade (someone) to
  • persuade (someone) to do
  • persuade her of
  • persuade her to
  • persuade her to do
  • persuade him of
  • persuade him to
  • persuade him to do
  • persuade me of
  • persuade me to
  • persuade me to do
  • persuade of
  • persuade somebody of
  • persuade somebody to
  • persuade somebody to do
  • persuade them of
  • persuade them to
  • persuade them to do
  • persuade to
  • persuade to do
  • persuade us of
  • persuade us to
  • persuade us to do
  • persuade you of
  • persuade you to
  • persuade you to do
  • Persuade, Inform, Entertain

  • Top Definitions
  • Synonyms
  • Quiz
  • Related Content
  • Examples
  • British

This shows grade level based on the word’s complexity.

[ per-sweyd ]

/ pərˈsweɪd /

This shows grade level based on the word’s complexity.


verb (used with object), per·suad·ed, per·suad·ing.

to prevail on (a person) to do something, as by advising or urging: We could not persuade him to wait.

to induce to believe by appealing to reason or understanding; convince: to persuade the judge of the prisoner’s innocence.

QUIZ

CAN YOU ANSWER THESE COMMON GRAMMAR DEBATES?

There are grammar debates that never die; and the ones highlighted in the questions in this quiz are sure to rile everyone up once again. Do you know how to answer the questions that cause some of the greatest grammar debates?

Which sentence is correct?

Origin of persuade

From the Latin word persuādēre, dating back to 1505–15. See per-, dissuade, suasion

synonym study for persuade

1. Persuade, induce imply influencing someone’s thoughts or actions. They are used today mainly in the sense of winning over a person to a certain course of action: It was I who persuaded him to call a doctor. I induced him to do it. They differ in that persuade suggests appealing more to the reason and understanding: I persuaded him to go back to his wife (although it is often lightly used: Can’t I persuade you to stay to supper? ); induce emphasizes only the idea of successful influence, whether achieved by argument or by promise of reward: What can I say that will induce you to stay at your job? Owing to this idea of compensation, induce may be used in reference to the influence of factors as well as of persons: The prospect of a raise in salary was what induced him to stay.

usage note for persuade

OTHER WORDS FROM persuade

per·suad·a·ble, adjectiveper·suad·a·bil·i·ty, per·suad·a·ble·ness, nounper·suad·a·bly, adverbper·suad·ing·ly, adverb

non·per·suad·a·ble, adjectivepre·per·suade, verb (used with object), pre·per·suad·ed, pre·per·suad·ing.un·per·suad·a·ble, adjectiveun·per·suad·a·bly, adverbun·per·suad·ed, adjectivewell-per·suad·ed, adjective

Words nearby persuade

perspiration, perspiratory, perspire, Persson, per stirpes, persuade, persuader, persuasible, persuasion, persuasive, persulfate

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Words related to persuade

advise, assure, cajole, coax, enlist, entice, exhort, get, impress, incline, induce, influence, prompt, satisfy, sway, urge, woo, actuate, affect, allure

How to use persuade in a sentence

  • The desire to persuade, to change a person’s mind, is not new, says Marcello Ienca, a bioethicist at ETH Zurich.

  • Raderman hadn’t dealt with a situation quite like this before, but after talking for 10 minutes she was able to persuade the caller to drive home and calm down before confronting his girlfriend.

  • By mid-November, according to court records, Larson persuaded the girl that they were in love, even as he admitted his age.

  • To persuade skeptical colleagues, he mixed healthy platelets from his own blood with blood samples of his patients and demonstrated the effect.

  • Facebook’s message is meant to persuade users not to opt out of tracking.

  • He goes into some detail into what it took to persuade voters to pass marriage equality at the ballot box in four states in 2012.

  • When I tried to persuade him to drop the title The Short Night, I proposed calling the picture Pursuit.

  • Unstoppable or not, John H has seen little in his 38 years to persuade him progress is benign.

  • A bunch of old, white, rock titans come together with young, white, X Factor hotties to persuade Britain to heal Africa.

  • “My mom tried to persuade me on it and told me about the coverups on college campuses,” he explains.

  • What though Maurice wanted to persuade me at Paris that I had better take a britska, as more fashionable?

  • For God’s sake write and persuade him to go to Davos at once—and picture the delights of a pretty and devoted nurse.

  • Some of us believe, or persuade ourselves that we believe, that miracles did happen a few thousand years ago.

  • It is said that the rancher visited Chicago several times following in an effort to persuade her to return.

  • Does the old swindler think to persuade me that C. F. Garman is in want of cash?

British Dictionary definitions for persuade


verb (tr; may take a clause as object or an infinitive)

to induce, urge, or prevail upon successfullyhe finally persuaded them to buy it

to cause to believe; convinceeven with the evidence, the police were not persuaded

Derived forms of persuade

persuadable or persuasible, adjectivepersuadability or persuasibility, nounpersuader, noun

Word Origin for persuade

C16: from Latin persuādēre, from per- (intensive) + suādēre to urge, advise

Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other forms: persuaded; persuading; persuades

If you get talked into something, you’ve been persuaded. If your friends try to persuade you to swan-dive into a dangerous ravine, it’s time to find some new friends.

To persuade is to get your way — win the argument, convince the group to see your favorite movie, get your parents to let you borrow the car. You persuade with language, with a carefully constructed argument, and with the strength of your conviction. The word is sometimes used tongue-in-cheek to describe the very opposite of a carefully worded argument. A movie gangster might «persuade» people with the gun he keeps tucked in his pocket.

Definitions of persuade

  1. verb

    cause somebody to adopt a certain position, belief, or course of action; twist somebody’s arm

    “You can’t
    persuade me to buy this ugly vase!”

    see moresee less

    Antonyms:

    deter, dissuade

    turn away from by persuasion

    types:

    show 20 types…
    hide 20 types…
    hustle

    pressure or urge someone into an action

    bring around, bring round

    cause to adopt an opinion or course of action

    badger

    persuade through constant efforts

    sell

    persuade somebody to accept something

    chat up

    talk to someone with the aim of persuading him

    talk into

    persuade somebody to do something

    rope in

    draw in as if with a rope; lure

    blarney, cajole, coax, inveigle, palaver, sweet-talk, wheedle

    influence or urge by gentle urging, caressing, or flattering

    convert, convince, win over

    make (someone) agree, understand, or realize the truth or validity of something

    brainwash

    persuade completely, often through coercion

    assure

    assure somebody of the truth of something with the intention of giving the listener confidence

    charm, influence, tempt

    induce into action by using one’s charm

    prevail

    use persuasion successfully

    drag

    persuade to come away from something attractive or interesting

    tempt

    try presumptuously

    soft-soap

    persuade someone through flattery

    bewitch, magnetise, magnetize, mesmerise, mesmerize, spellbind

    attract strongly, as if with a magnet

    reassure

    give or restore confidence in; cause to feel sure or certain

    browbeat, bully, swagger

    discourage or frighten with threats or a domineering manner; intimidate

    disarm

    make less hostile; win over

    type of:

    cause, get, have, induce, make, stimulate

    cause to do; cause to act in a specified manner

  2. verb

    win approval or support for

    synonyms:

    carry, sway

    carry

    win in an election

DISCLAIMER: These example sentences appear in various news sources and books to reflect the usage of the word ‘persuade’.
Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Vocabulary.com or its editors.
Send us feedback

EDITOR’S CHOICE

Look up persuade for the last time

Close your vocabulary gaps with personalized learning that focuses on teaching the
words you need to know.

VocabTrainer - Vocabulary.com's Vocabulary Trainer

Sign up now (it’s free!)

Whether you’re a teacher or a learner, Vocabulary.com can put you or your class on the path to systematic vocabulary improvement.

Get started

Educalingo cookies are used to personalize ads and get web traffic statistics. We also share information about the use of the site with our social media, advertising and analytics partners.

Download the app
educalingo

He who wants to persuade should put his trust not in the right argument, but in the right word. The power of sound has always been greater than the power of sense.

Joseph Conrad

section

ETYMOLOGY OF THE WORD PERSUADE

From Latin persuādēre, from per- (intensive) + suādēre to urge, advise.

info

Etymology is the study of the origin of words and their changes in structure and significance.

facebooktwitterpinterestwhatsapp

section

PRONUNCIATION OF PERSUADE

facebooktwitterpinterestwhatsapp

GRAMMATICAL CATEGORY OF PERSUADE

Persuade is a verb.

WHAT DOES PERSUADE MEAN IN ENGLISH?

persuade

Persuasion

Persuasion is an umbrella term of influence. Persuasion can attempt to influence a person’s beliefs, attitudes, intentions, motivations, or behaviors. In business, persuasion is a process aimed at changing a person’s attitude or behavior toward some event, idea, object, or other person, by using written or spoken words to convey information, feelings, or reasoning, or a combination thereof. Persuasion is also an often used tool in the pursuit of personal gain, such as election campaigning, giving a sales pitch, or in trial advocacy. Persuasion can also be interpreted as using one’s personal or positional resources to change people’s behaviors or attitudes. Systematic persuasion is the process through which attitudes or beliefs are changed by appeals to logic and reason. Heuristic persuasion on the other hand is the process through which attitudes or beliefs are changed because of appeals to habit or emotion.


Definition of persuade in the English dictionary

The definition of persuade in the dictionary is to induce, urge, or prevail upon successfully. Other definition of persuade is to cause to believe; convince.

CONJUGATION OF THE VERB TO PERSUADE

PRESENT

Present

I persuade

you persuade

he/she/it persuades

we persuade

you persuade

they persuade

Present continuous

I am persuading

you are persuading

he/she/it is persuading

we are persuading

you are persuading

they are persuading

Present perfect

I have persuaded

you have persuaded

he/she/it has persuaded

we have persuaded

you have persuaded

they have persuaded

Present perfect continuous

I have been persuading

you have been persuading

he/she/it has been persuading

we have been persuading

you have been persuading

they have been persuading

Present tense is used to refer to circumstances that exist at the present time or over a period that includes the present time. The present perfect refers to past events, although it can be considered to denote primarily the resulting present situation rather than the events themselves.

PAST

Past

I persuaded

you persuaded

he/she/it persuaded

we persuaded

you persuaded

they persuaded

Past continuous

I was persuading

you were persuading

he/she/it was persuading

we were persuading

you were persuading

they were persuading

Past perfect

I had persuaded

you had persuaded

he/she/it had persuaded

we had persuaded

you had persuaded

they had persuaded

Past perfect continuous

I had been persuading

you had been persuading

he/she/it had been persuading

we had been persuading

you had been persuading

they had been persuading

Past tense forms express circumstances existing at some time in the past,

FUTURE

Future

I will persuade

you will persuade

he/she/it will persuade

we will persuade

you will persuade

they will persuade

Future continuous

I will be persuading

you will be persuading

he/she/it will be persuading

we will be persuading

you will be persuading

they will be persuading

Future perfect

I will have persuaded

you will have persuaded

he/she/it will have persuaded

we will have persuaded

you will have persuaded

they will have persuaded

Future perfect continuous

I will have been persuading

you will have been persuading

he/she/it will have been persuading

we will have been persuading

you will have been persuading

they will have been persuading

The future is used to express circumstances that will occur at a later time.

CONDITIONAL

Conditional

I would persuade

you would persuade

he/she/it would persuade

we would persuade

you would persuade

they would persuade

Conditional continuous

I would be persuading

you would be persuading

he/she/it would be persuading

we would be persuading

you would be persuading

they would be persuading

Conditional perfect

I would have persuade

you would have persuade

he/she/it would have persuade

we would have persuade

you would have persuade

they would have persuade

Conditional perfect continuous

I would have been persuading

you would have been persuading

he/she/it would have been persuading

we would have been persuading

you would have been persuading

they would have been persuading

Conditional or «future-in-the-past» tense refers to hypothetical or possible actions.

IMPERATIVE

Imperative

you persuade
we let´s persuade
you persuade

The imperative is used to form commands or requests.

NONFINITE VERB FORMS

Past participle

persuaded

Present Participle

persuading

Infinitive shows the action beyond temporal perspective. The present participle or gerund shows the action during the session. The past participle shows the action after completion.

WORDS THAT RHYME WITH PERSUADE

Synonyms and antonyms of persuade in the English dictionary of synonyms

SYNONYMS OF «PERSUADE»

The following words have a similar or identical meaning as «persuade» and belong to the same grammatical category.

Translation of «persuade» into 25 languages

online translator

TRANSLATION OF PERSUADE

Find out the translation of persuade to 25 languages with our English multilingual translator.

The translations of persuade from English to other languages presented in this section have been obtained through automatic statistical translation; where the essential translation unit is the word «persuade» in English.

Translator English — Chinese


说服

1,325 millions of speakers

Translator English — Spanish


persuadir

570 millions of speakers

English


persuade

510 millions of speakers

Translator English — Hindi


राजी

380 millions of speakers

Translator English — Arabic


يُقْنِعُ

280 millions of speakers

Translator English — Russian


убеждать

278 millions of speakers

Translator English — Portuguese


persuadir

270 millions of speakers

Translator English — Bengali


পটান

260 millions of speakers

Translator English — French


persuader

220 millions of speakers

Translator English — Malay


Memujuk

190 millions of speakers

Translator English — German


überreden

180 millions of speakers

Translator English — Japanese


説得する

130 millions of speakers

Translator English — Korean


설득하다

85 millions of speakers

Translator English — Javanese


Nyuwun pangapunten

85 millions of speakers

Translator English — Vietnamese


thuyết phục

80 millions of speakers

Translator English — Tamil


இணங்கச்

75 millions of speakers

Translator English — Marathi


खात्री पटवणे

75 millions of speakers

Translator English — Turkish


ikna etmek

70 millions of speakers

Translator English — Italian


convincere

65 millions of speakers

Translator English — Polish


przekonać

50 millions of speakers

Translator English — Ukrainian


переконувати

40 millions of speakers

Translator English — Romanian


a convinge

30 millions of speakers

Translator English — Greek


πείθω

15 millions of speakers

Translator English — Afrikaans


oortuig

14 millions of speakers

Translator English — Swedish


övertala

10 millions of speakers

Translator English — Norwegian


overtale

5 millions of speakers

Trends of use of persuade

TENDENCIES OF USE OF THE TERM «PERSUADE»

The term «persuade» is quite widely used and occupies the 24.158 position in our list of most widely used terms in the English dictionary.

Trends

FREQUENCY

Quite widely used

The map shown above gives the frequency of use of the term «persuade» in the different countries.

Principal search tendencies and common uses of persuade

List of principal searches undertaken by users to access our English online dictionary and most widely used expressions with the word «persuade».

FREQUENCY OF USE OF THE TERM «PERSUADE» OVER TIME

The graph expresses the annual evolution of the frequency of use of the word «persuade» during the past 500 years. Its implementation is based on analysing how often the term «persuade» appears in digitalised printed sources in English between the year 1500 and the present day.

Examples of use in the English literature, quotes and news about persuade

10 QUOTES WITH «PERSUADE»

Famous quotes and sentences with the word persuade.

It is clear that he does not pray, who, far from uplifting himself to God, requires that God shall lower Himself to him, and who resorts to prayer not to stir the man in us to will what God wills, but only to persuade God to will what the man in us wills.

Government is force, pure and simple. There’s no way to sugar-coat that. And because government is force, it will attract the worst elements of society — people who want to use government to avoid having to earn their living and to avoid having to persuade others to accept their ideas voluntarily.

Modern art is what happens when painters stop looking at girls and persuade themselves that they have a better idea.

I don’t know that you’re ever going to persuade New Zealanders that they’re not going to own their own homes and I’m not going to try.

If I can get you to laugh with me, you like me better, which makes you more open to my ideas. And if I can persuade you to laugh at the particular point I make, by laughing at it you acknowledge its truth.

Rhetoric, which is the use of language to inform or persuade, is very important in shaping public opinion. We are very easily fooled by language and how it is used by others.

He who wants to persuade should put his trust not in the right argument, but in the right word. The power of sound has always been greater than the power of sense.

I consider myself a persuasive person. With the ability to persuade comes a certain level of power.

I cannot persuade myself that a beneficent and omnipotent God would have designedly created parasitic wasps with the express intention of their feeding within the living bodies of Caterpillars.

Insight into character comes from listening intently to the spoken word. The physical person, their charisma, charm and dramatic flair is more often used to persuade audiences, as they use these stealth tools of disguise and deception.

10 ENGLISH BOOKS RELATING TO «PERSUADE»

Discover the use of persuade in the following bibliographical selection. Books relating to persuade and brief extracts from same to provide context of its use in English literature.

1

How to Persuade People Who Don’t Want to be Persuaded: Get …

The art of persuasion as taught by one of the world’s most sought-after speakers and pitchmen In this daring book, Joel Bauer teaches you how to persuade by making your messages entertaining.

Joel Bauer, Mark Levy, 2011

2

To Punish or Persuade: Enforcement of Coal Mine Safety

In To Punish or Persuade, John Braithwaite declares that coal mine disasters are usually the result of corporate crime.

3

Brandwashed: Tricks Companies Use to Manipulate Our Minds …

Marketing visionary Martin Lindstrom has been on the front lines of the branding wars for over twenty years.

4

Brainfluence: 100 Ways to Persuade and Convince Consumers …

This book is designed to be a practical guide with quick and easy takeaways offered in 60 short chapters, each containing one key strategy.

5

Persuade Me (Choc Lit):

When do you let your heart rule your head?

6

Tell to Win: Connect, Persuade, and Triumph with the Hidden …

Simply put, if you can’t tell it, you can’t sell it. And this book tells you how to do both. Historically, stories have always been igniters of action, moving people to do things.

7

The Psychology of Persuasion: How to Persuade Others to Your …

» -Midwest Book Review «This book is practical, useful, and insightful, and it will make a difference in your life.» -Richard L. Weaver II, PhD, author, And Then Some: Essays to Entertain, Motivate, and Inspire!

8

Real Influence: Persuade Without Pushing and Gain Without …

In this groundbreaking book, authors Mark Goulston and John Ullmen reveal a new model for authentic influence—the kind that creates a strong initial connection and survives long after agreement has been reached.

Mark Goulston, John Ullmen, 2013

You’ll even learn ‘the most persuasive word in the world’ (CLUE: It’s on the back cover of this book.)

10

Presentations that Persuade and Motivate

From overcoming «stage fright» to reading and reacting to body language to tackling tough questions and delivering memorable closings, presenters from the novice to the seasoned speaker will find a wealth of advice for giving standout …

10 NEWS ITEMS WHICH INCLUDE THE TERM «PERSUADE»

Find out what the national and international press are talking about and how the term persuade is used in the context of the following news items.

Ex-Strictly star Vincent Simone: I had to persuade my wife to dance …

Former Strictly Come Dancing star Vincent Simone has revealed how he had to persuade his wife to join him for a first dance at the couple’s … «Belfast Telegraph, Jul 15»

Mama Sarah to ‘Persuade‘ Obama to Visit Father’s Kogelo Grave …

Mama Sarah Obama intends to persuade U.S. President Barack Obama to visit Kogelo and pray at his father’s grave in fulfillment of Luo … «Worldmeets.us, Jul 15»

Edgewater cops persuade man suffering from depression to come …

EDGEWATER — Police officers pulled a 37-year-old man suffering from depression from a ledge on the roof of a four-story apartment building … «NorthJersey.com, Jul 15»

Judge slaps restraining order on Cook County Sheriff over efforts to …

… forbidding the sheriff and his representatives from “taking any actions … to formally or informally request, direct, persuade, coerce or threaten … «Cook County Record, Jul 15»

Valcke to follow Blatter’s exit, as he calls summit to persuade

July 24 — FIFA’s number two, secretary-general Jerome Valcke, has admitted for the first time that he will leave the organisation when Sepp … «Inside World Football, Jul 15»

Obama team attempts to persuade US lawmakers to endorse Iran …

US Secretary of State John Kerry addresses the media before attending a classified briefing on the Iran nuclear deal with members of the US … «The Guardian, Jul 15»

EU referendum: Former Ukip backers launch £20m campaign to …

A group of former Ukip backers is to launch a £20m campaign to persuade the public to vote to leave the European Union in the in/out … «The Independent, Jul 15»

How to Persuade the Disinterested and Resistant

In the late 1960s, Os Guinness worked alongside Francis Schaeffer at L’Abri, Schaeffer’s famed Christian retreat center in Switzerland. In the … «ChristianityToday.com, Jul 15»

As Economy Grows, Can Ireland Persuade Expats to Come Back …

DUBLIN–Growing up in the Irish coastal town of Dundalk, Sarah Gaskin was told she’d never know what it means to struggle. “My teacher said … «Wall Street Journal, Jul 15»

Airport Authority hopes to persuade Alaska Airlines to keep both …

An Alaska Airlines pilot confers with Helena Regional Airport ground crew on the airport tarmac. 2015-07-22T06:00:00Z Airport Authority hopes to persuade … «Helena Independent Record, Jul 15»

REFERENCE

« EDUCALINGO. Persuade [online]. Available <https://educalingo.com/en/dic-en/persuade>. Apr 2023 ».

Download the educalingo app


Discover all that is hidden in the words on educalingo

Понравилась статья? Поделить с друзьями:
  • Definition of the word parents
  • Definition of the word pain
  • Definition of the word package
  • Definition of the word organized
  • Definition of the word organize