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 of dissuade

• 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

Potential suitors will not be dissuaded from coming in for him this summer, however. —Mario Cortegana, New York Times, 3 June 2026

The idea here is to dissuade teams from prolonging their rebuilds. —Bennett Durando, Denver Post, 2 June 2026

Several recent papers suggest that the rent-control scheme might even be making the housing shortage worse in some places by causing landlords to take units off the rental market and dissuading developers from building. —Rogé Karma, The Atlantic, 1 June 2026

That’s an enticing bargain at any time, although long lines sometimes dissuade customers, especially when gas is inexpensive. —David Goldman, CNN Money, 31 May 2026

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