persuade

verb

per·suade | \ pər-ˈswād

persuaded; persuading

Definition of persuade

transitive verb

1 : to move by argument, entreaty, or expostulation to a belief, position, or course of action

2 : to plead with : urge

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Examples of persuade in a Sentence

He persuaded his friend to go back to school. She couldn't be persuaded to go. He would not let himself be persuaded into buying the more expensive stereo. I am not easily persuaded. They persuaded us that we were wrong. He persuaded himself that he had made the right choice.

Recent Examples on the Web

The Soviet leader, like Adolf Hitler, had a tendency to meddle in military decision making, and his megalomania could have persuaded him to pursue such an idea. — Kyle Mizokami, Popular Mechanics, "The USSR Planned a Super Sub That Launched Rockets and Delivered Tanks," 27 Dec. 2018 At home, the young man also persuaded his mom to get rid of Wi-Fi to lessen the temptation. — Martha Irvine, The Seattle Times, "He’s a ‘tech addict’ who works in Seattle area’s tech industry," 26 Dec. 2018 And Bambu Indah, John and Cynthia Hardy’s 12-room fantasia by the river, may persuade you to move in for good with its antique Javanese wooden houses and swooping bamboo buildings, not to mention the meditation pod that hangs out over the river. — Alex Postman, Condé Nast Traveler, "Finding the Bali You Came For," 16 Nov. 2018 Most of the voter suppression efforts reported over the past week have targeted Democrats in an effort to persuade them not to vote. — Casey Newton, The Verge, "Four ways the internet changed the midterm elections," 7 Nov. 2018 Democrats said the mailer was attempting to persuade white voters not to send another black representative to Congress. — Paul Sonne And Lisa Rein, miamiherald, "Trump's VA pick, a longtime aide to polarizing politicians, has defended extreme views," 26 June 2018 An administration official said both White House aides and members of the House Freedom Caucus made unsuccessful attempts to persuade Trump to hold his fire before Tuesday's primary. — Sarah Westwood, CNN, "Trump ignored advice when he went after Mark Sanford," 13 June 2018 California’s action prompted Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey to send out a derisive tweet in an effort to persuade Uber to bring its self-driving cars to his state. — Michael Liedtke, Houston Chronicle, "Uber ends self-driving program in Arizona after fatal crash," 23 May 2018 China’s top priority for the summit is to try to persuade the US to not implement a planned tariff increase that’s set to kick in on January 1st, which would raise existing tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese goods to 25 percent. — Dani Deahl, The Verge, "Trump says consumers ‘could stand’ 10 percent tariff on iPhones," 26 Nov. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'persuade.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.