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

She wasn’t dissuaded two years later — and mid-renovation — when a $475 million Target distribution center was announced for the small city, creating an industrial foothold in a mostly agrarian area. —Zachary Hansen, AJC.com, 6 Mar. 2026

Trump could have dissuaded the Israelis once again. —Yair Rosenberg, The Atlantic, 4 Mar. 2026

Did anyone ever try to dissuade you from focusing on just beavers? —Mary Divine, Twin Cities, 1 Mar. 2026

Rocker said that Milwaukee’s propensity for early-count swings (more than half of his at-bats lasted two pitches or less) dissuaded him from changeup usage. —Shawn McFarland, Dallas Morning News, 26 Feb. 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