persuade
[ per-sweyd ]
/ pərˈsweɪd /
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.
Origin of persuade
SYNONYMS FOR persuade
1
urge,
influence,
move,
entice,
impel.
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
See
convince.
OTHER WORDS FROM persuade
Words nearby persuade
perspicuous,
perspiration,
perspiratory,
perspire,
persson,
persuade,
persuader,
persuasible,
persuasion,
persuasive,
persulfate
Example sentences from the Web for persuadable
British Dictionary definitions for persuadable
persuade
/ (pəˈsweɪd) /
verb (tr; may take a clause as object or an infinitive)
to induce, urge, or prevail upon successfully
he finally persuaded them to buy it
to cause to believe; convince
even with the evidence, the police were not persuaded
Derived forms of persuade
persuadable or persuasible, adjective persuadability or persuasibility, noun persuader, nounWord Origin for persuade
C16: from Latin
persuādēre, from
per- (intensive) +
suādēre to urge, advise