dissuade

verb

dis·​suade di-ˈswād 

dissuaded; dissuading

transitive verb

1

a

: to advise (a person) against something

… dissuading us from base thoughts, low ends, ignoble gains …

—A. T. Quiller-Couch

b

archaic : to advise against (an action)

2

: to turn from something by persuasion

unable to dissuade him from going

dissuader noun

Synonyms

• discourage
• deter

Examples of dissuade in a Sentence

Our warnings did not dissuade them.

tried to dissuade her from her intention to drop out of college

Recent Examples on the Web

But states may now be dissuaded by the Trump administration's stance against price mandates being applied to the grant program. —Jon Brodkin, ArsTechnica, 5 Aug. 2025

If a peace deal is not reached by Friday, Putin’s chief commodity will become the primary target as the U.S. will begin 100% sanctions on nations that purchase Russian oil in a move to dissuade them from fueling Russia’s economy, and by extension, its war chest. —Caitlin McFall, FOXNews.com, 5 Aug. 2025

Trump mulled pathways to fire the Fed chair, only to be dissuaded by White House lawyers and economic advisors who found that such a move on monetary policy grounds would to be outside of his legal authority. —Phil Mattingly, CNN Money, 30 July 2025

But job disclosure initiatives to dissuade junior bankers from taking PE offers come with their own risks, experts tell Fortune. —Nino Paoli, Fortune, 25 July 2025

Word History

Etymology

Middle French or Latin; Middle French dissuader, from Latin dissuadēre, from dis- + suadēre to urge — more at sweet

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Rhymes for dissuade

• afraid
• allayed
• arcade
• arrayed
• assayed
• barmaid
• betrayed
• blockade
• bridesmaid
• brigade
• brocade
• buffeted

Kids Definition

dissuade

verb

dis·​suade dis-ˈwād 

dissuaded; dissuading

: to persuade or advise not to do something