as in coaxing
to get (someone) to do something by gentle urging, special attention, or flattery
cajoled her into doing his laundry for him
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Recent Examples of cajoling
Getting anything done is hard and takes persuading, cajoling, or even sucking up, depending on who is at the receiving end.
—
Shivaram Rajgopal, Forbes.com, 6 Sep. 2025
After years of cajoling workers, employers are taking a harder line.
—Jessica Guynn, USA Today, 28 Aug. 2025
Naomi is a textbook Jewish mother, nagging and cajoling and smothering her children with logorrheic abandon.
—Alison Herman, Variety, 22 Aug. 2025
Butorac has spent much of the past year quizzing, cajoling and nudging those stars, ultimately devising a format geared to their needs.
—Matthew Futterman, New York Times, 19 Aug. 2025
When everything goes right, the airlines’ practiced, cheerful funneling and cajoling, plus the snacks and in-seat entertainment, make the experience feel anodyne and efficient.
—Jeff Wise, The Atlantic, 8 Aug. 2025
Shivaram Rajgopal, Forbes.com, 6 Sep. 2025
After years of cajoling workers, employers are taking a harder line.
—Jessica Guynn, USA Today, 28 Aug. 2025
Naomi is a textbook Jewish mother, nagging and cajoling and smothering her children with logorrheic abandon.
—Alison Herman, Variety, 22 Aug. 2025
Butorac has spent much of the past year quizzing, cajoling and nudging those stars, ultimately devising a format geared to their needs.
—Matthew Futterman, New York Times, 19 Aug. 2025
When everything goes right, the airlines’ practiced, cheerful funneling and cajoling, plus the snacks and in-seat entertainment, make the experience feel anodyne and efficient.
—Jeff Wise, The Atlantic, 8 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for cajoling
coaxing
Verb
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But even without a rewards program, credit cards have a way of coaxing people to use them.—
Michael Waters,
The Atlantic,
9 Sep. 2025
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After nearly a full minute of coaxing, the standoff ends.—
Melissa Fleur Afshar,
MSNBC Newsweek,
29 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Cajoling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/cajoling. Accessed 18 Sep. 2025.
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