cajole

verb

ca·jole kə-ˈjōl

cajoled; cajoling

Synonyms of cajole next

transitive verb

: to persuade with flattery or gentle urging especially in the face of reluctance : coax

had to cajole them into going

: to obtain from someone by gentle persuasion

cajoled money from his parents

: to deceive with soothing words or false promises

cajoled himself with thoughts of escape—

Robertson Davies

cajolement

kə-ˈjōl-mənt

noun

cajoler noun

cajolery

kə-ˈjō-lə-rē

noun

Did you know?

However hard we try, we can’t cajole the full history of cajole from the cages of obscurity. We know that it comes from French cajoler, meaning "to give much attention to; to make a fuss over; to flatter or persuade with flattery"—no surprise there. But the next chapter of the word’s history may, or may not, be for the birds: it’s possible that cajoler is descended from a word that is cage-bound twice over. One potential ancestor both comes from a word meaning "birdcage" and was formed under the influence of the Anglo-French word cage, whence also comes our word cage. The ancestor of our word jail is in this lineage as well.

Choose the Right Synonym for cajole

cajole, coax, soft-soap, blandish, wheedle mean to influence or persuade by pleasing words or actions.

cajole suggests the deliberate use of flattery to persuade in the face of reluctance or reasonable objections.

cajoled him into cheating on the final exam

coax implies gentle and persistent words or actions employed to produce a desired effect.

coaxed the cat out of the tree

soft-soap refers to using smooth and somewhat insincere talk usually for personal gain.

politicians soft-soaping eligible voters

blandish implies a more open desire to win a person over by effusive praise and affectionate actions.

legislators blandished with promises of support

wheedle suggests more strongly than cajole the use of seductive appeal or artful words in persuading.

hucksters wheedling her life's savings out of her

Examples of cajole in a Sentence

cajoled her into doing his laundry for him

Recent Examples on the Web They are also cajoled to buy bracelets, necklaces or miniature caballitos de totora, a toy version of the traditional boats used by Titicaca fishers. —

Tim Brinkhof, Discover Magazine, 12 Nov. 2023 California is attempting to cajole the rest of the world into following our lead on climate. —

Sammy Roth, Los Angeles Times, 2 Nov. 2023 Facing holdouts in his own ranks, McCarthy is trying to cajole his hard-right members who have refused to vote for any temporary spending bill — even with the border provisions. —

Lisa Mascaro, Fortune, 28 Sep. 2023 Last year, the Republican attorneys general of Missouri and Louisiana sued the Biden administration in US District Court in Louisiana, arguing that government officials effectively cajoled or coerced Twitter, Facebook, and other social media platforms by threatening legislative changes. —

Steven Lee Myers, BostonGlobe.com, 19 June 2023 By night, young women sit outside brothels bathed in purple and pink neon lights, while their handlers try to cajole Chinese men walking outside to come in. —

Shibani Mahtani, Washington Post, 12 Oct. 2023 The Pentagon has provided Patriot air defense systems and cajoled allies to provide S-300 air defense ammunition, both of which have proven effective. —

Thomas Gibbons-Neff, New York Times, 14 Sep. 2023 The stage that night at Radio City Music Hall was filled with stars who had been cajoled into helping launch the show. —

Mary Gabriel, Rolling Stone, 27 Sep. 2023 For a 2001 study, the cognitive scientist Tecumseh Fitch cajoled goats, dogs, deer and other species to vocalize while inside a cineradiograph machine that filmed the way their larynxes moved under X-ray. —

Sonia Shah, New York Times, 20 Sep. 2023 See More

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'cajole.' 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

borrowed from French cajoler "to give much attention to, make a fuss over, flatter, persuade with flattery," going back to Middle French cajoller "to flatter out of self-interest," perhaps the same verb as Middle French cageoller "to vocalize, sing (of a jay or other bird)," expressive formation of uncertain origin

Note: Middle French cageoller was explained by Wartburg, et al., Französisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, as a permutation, under the influence of cage cage entry 1, of gaioler "to chatter, cackle (of birds)," a derivative of Picard gaiole "birdcage," corresponding to Old French geole, jaole "cage, prison" (see jail entry 1). According to Dubois-Mitterand-Dauzat, Dictionaire étymologique et historique du français (Larousse, 1993, continuing the etymology from earlier editons of Dauzat), the meaning "to flatter" is due to association of cageoller with enjôler "to captivate by flattery" (Old French enjaoiler "to imprison"). Alternatively, the two formations ("to sing, vocalize" and "to flatter") have been regarded as of independent origin; the first may either be an onomatopoeic outgrowth of cacarder "to honk (of a goose)," or a rearrangement of *jacoler, based on jacques, a dialectal name for a jay; the second is conjecturally a merger of enjôler and caresser "to stroke, caress entry 1" (thus E. Gamillscheg, Etymologisches Wörterbuch der französischen Sprache, 2. Auflage, Winter, 1969).