cajole

verb

ca·​jole kə-ˈjōl 

cajoled; cajoling

transitive verb

1

a

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

had to cajole them into going

b

: to obtain from someone by gentle persuasion

cajoled money from his parents

2

: 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.

Synonyms

• blandish
• blarney
• coax
• palaver
• soft-soap
• sweet-talk
• wheedle

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

Bibb took one there, along with her co-star Aimee Lou Wood, and had cajoled him into another. —Michael Schulman, New Yorker, 31 Mar. 2025

States in the dark about federal education cuts European leaders arrived this week to flatter and cajole President Trump. —Alexis Simendinger, The Hill, 28 Feb. 2025

Bibb took one there, along with her co-star Aimee Lou Wood, and had cajoled him into another. —Michael Schulman, New Yorker, 31 Mar. 2025

For those who haven’t had the pleasure of trying, cajoling sound out of a big shell isn’t easy. —Abby Levene, Outside Online, 20 Mar. 2025

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).

First Known Use

1630, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Rhymes for cajole

• bankroll
• bedroll
• borehole
• catchpole
• charcoal
• condole
• control
• dipole
• downhole
• enroll
• extol
• flagpole

Podcast

Get Word of the Day delivered to your inbox!

Kids Definition

cajole

verb

ca·​jole kə-ˈjōl 

cajoled; cajoling

: to coax or persuade especially by flattery or false promises : wheedle

cajolery

-ˈjōl-(ə-)rē 

noun