persuade

verb per·suade \ pər-ˈswād \

|Updated on: 19 Jul 2018

Examples: persuade in a Sentence

Definition of persuade

persuaded; persuading

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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persuader

noun

See persuade defined for English-language learners

See persuade defined for kids

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 of persuade from the Web

By the end of the recent conference call, Tech for Campaigns had persuaded Ms. Eskamani, the Florida House candidate, to start running ads on her social media accounts.

— New York Times, "4,500 Tech Workers, 1 Mission: Get Democrats Elected," 13 July 2018
Last month, workers and rights groups persuaded Google not to renew a contract to supply artificial intelligence tools to help the Pentagon analyze footage from drone aircraft.

— joseph menn, The Christian Science Monitor, "Silicon Valley employees increasingly push companies on ethics," 13 July 2018
On our last night, my friend persuaded me to sneak into their dorm, and for most of that evening Jeffrey and I sat in a corner, drinking Gatorade.

— angelica baker, Vogue, "Going One-on-One with Greatness at Michael Jordan’s Summer Camp," 13 July 2018
That body of writing persuaded Trump and his conservative advisers that Kavanaugh would remain a stalwart originalist on the bench.

— brian bennett, Time, "How Brett Kavanaugh Could Change the Supreme Court—and America," 12 July 2018
The group had persuaded the land’s previous owner, BudCo Ltd., to donate it for that purpose.

— richard webner, San Antonio Express-News, "Sculley again extends deadline for Hays Street apartments developer," 3 July 2018
Chesney, using his Blue Chair imprint, persuaded Murphy to make the album and landed it at Reviver, where Murphy is committed to continuing this new chapter.

— tom roland, Billboard, "David Lee, Garth, Sugarland: When Is a Comeback Not a Comeback?," 27 June 2018
The only answer, then, is persuading people to come to your place for an event that resembles a party—but doesn't require too much effort.

— marian bull, GQ, "—Peter Meehan, Author Of An Upcoming Barbecue Book And Former Editor Of," 27 June 2018
Will the vice president persuade six Democratic members of the Senate to vote for impeachment and take over herself?

— sean gallagher, Ars Technica, "The President Is Missing… a few finer points on how the cyber works in this novel," 17 June 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.

Origin and Etymology of persuade

Latin persuadēre, from per- thoroughly + suadēre to advise, urge — more at sweet

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 15th century

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year

persuade Synonyms

Synonyms

argue, bring, bring around, convert, convince, gain, get, induce, move, prevail (on or upon), satisfy, talk (into), win (over);

Near Antonyms

deter, discourage, dissuade, unsell;

allure, beguile, lead on, lure, seduce, snow, tempt;

brainwash, overpersuade;

incline, influence, move, prompt, sell, sway;

reason (with);

PERSUADE Defined for English Language Learners

persuade

verb

Definition of persuade for English Language Learners

: to cause (someone) to do something by asking, arguing, or giving reasons
: to cause (someone) to believe something

PERSUADE Defined for Kids

persuade

verb per·suade \ pər-ˈswād \

Definition of persuade for Students

persuaded; persuading

: to win over to a belief or way of acting : convince The weather report persuaded me to stay home.

Learn More about persuade

See words that rhyme with persuade Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for persuade Spanish Central: Translation of persuade Nglish: Translation of persuade for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of persuade for Arabic speakers

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persuade

Definition of persuade

persuader

Examples of persuade in a Sentence

Recent Examples of persuade from the Web

Origin and Etymology of persuade

persuade Synonyms

Synonyms

Near Antonyms

Related Words

PERSUADE Defined for English Language Learners

persuade

Definition of persuade for English Language Learners

PERSUADE Defined for Kids

persuade

Definition of persuade for Students

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