as in cajoling
to get (someone) to do something by gentle urging, special attention, or flattery
trying to coax their father into taking them on a ski trip, the teens mentioned what a great skier he is
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Recent Examples of coaxing
Michael Waters, The Atlantic, 9 Sep. 2025
After nearly a full minute of coaxing, the standoff ends.
—Melissa Fleur Afshar, MSNBC Newsweek, 29 Aug. 2025
Multiple people in the room, some yelling, some hitting me, others comforting and coaxing.
—Maer Roshan, HollywoodReporter, 18 Aug. 2025
And Boone’s culinary landscape blossoms with bold flavors and unexpected pairings, from rising Asian eateries like The Happy Persimmon and CoBo Sushi Bistro to local vineyards coaxing crisp bubbles from mountain grapes.
—Carrie Honaker, Travel + Leisure, 15 Aug. 2025
In the video, Munn is holding her little girl excitedly, coaxing her to repeat it on camera.
—Kayla Grant, People.com, 15 Aug. 2025
Ironically, a volunteer team led by Sallon recently succeeded in coaxing several 2,000-year-old Judean date-palm seeds collected from archaelogical sites including Masada and the Qumran Caves to not only sprout, but grow into fruit-bearing trees.
—Jacob Jones, JSTOR Daily, 13 Aug. 2025
Ideas and relationships flourished, coaxing him to fully develop the project.
—Holly Jones, Variety, 11 Aug. 2025
Its land is farmed communally, and its lord, Master Kent (Harry Melling), is a benevolent soul who prefers coaxing and rewarding to ordering and punishing.
—Richard Brody, New Yorker, 8 Aug. 2025
Noun
But even without a rewards program, credit cards have a way of coaxing people to use them.
—Michael Waters, The Atlantic, 9 Sep. 2025
After nearly a full minute of coaxing, the standoff ends.
—Melissa Fleur Afshar, MSNBC Newsweek, 29 Aug. 2025
Multiple people in the room, some yelling, some hitting me, others comforting and coaxing.
—Maer Roshan, HollywoodReporter, 18 Aug. 2025
And Boone’s culinary landscape blossoms with bold flavors and unexpected pairings, from rising Asian eateries like The Happy Persimmon and CoBo Sushi Bistro to local vineyards coaxing crisp bubbles from mountain grapes.
—Carrie Honaker, Travel + Leisure, 15 Aug. 2025
In the video, Munn is holding her little girl excitedly, coaxing her to repeat it on camera.
—Kayla Grant, People.com, 15 Aug. 2025
Ironically, a volunteer team led by Sallon recently succeeded in coaxing several 2,000-year-old Judean date-palm seeds collected from archaelogical sites including Masada and the Qumran Caves to not only sprout, but grow into fruit-bearing trees.
—Jacob Jones, JSTOR Daily, 13 Aug. 2025
Ideas and relationships flourished, coaxing him to fully develop the project.
—Holly Jones, Variety, 11 Aug. 2025
Its land is farmed communally, and its lord, Master Kent (Harry Melling), is a benevolent soul who prefers coaxing and rewarding to ordering and punishing.
—Richard Brody, New Yorker, 8 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for coaxing
Verb
-
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
Noun
-
But Putin cannot have needed much persuading to agree to a formal invitation to the US to have the bilateral meeting his team have long held out as the way towards peace in Ukraine.—
Nick Paton Walsh,
CNN Money,
9 Aug. 2025
-
In the framework of conversational intelligence, most workplace communication falls into Level 1 (telling) or Level 2 (persuading).—
Susan Curtin,
Forbes.com,
5 Aug. 2025
Noun
-
Checkers can see your shortcuts, your reportorial wheedling, your blind spots.—
Zach Helfand,
New Yorker,
25 Aug. 2025
Verb
-
Pratt’s operation involved luring women into pornography through deceit and coercion, with the content later shared online, according to prosecutors.—
Real-Time News team,
Miami Herald,
15 Sep. 2025
-
Nepal The climbing capital of the world, Nepal has been luring mountaineers for decades, including up the busy South Col route to the summit of Mount Everest.—
Katie Lockhart,
Travel + Leisure,
14 Sep. 2025
Verb
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While the likes of McDonald’s and Subway have hardly vanished from terminals, concessions companies are increasingly wooing popular local eateries and celebrity chefs to bring their signature menu items to the traveling public.—
Lori Weisberg,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
10 Sep. 2025
-
But wooing Western partners would likely involve some compromises that these dictators are probably unwilling to make.—
Michael Schuman,
The Atlantic,
2 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
But after Davina publicly accuses Julia mid-labor of seducing Lord Lovat, the group of women suddenly turn on Julia, yelling at her to repent her sins and repeatedly questioning her about the paternity of her child.—
Max Gao,
HollywoodReporter,
5 Sep. 2025
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The drama follows Veneno (played by non-pro Víctor Miguel), a headstrong young drifter who survives by seducing truck drivers at 24-hour roadside diners called cachimbas.—
Anna Marie de la Fuente,
Variety,
25 Aug. 2025
Noun
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In some ways, Sacrifice is an entreaty for a return to pure, even blind faith, albeit not of the Christian variety.—
Richard Lawson,
HollywoodReporter,
7 Sep. 2025
-
Merlin Revenue Solutions didn’t respond to an email entreaty either.—
Teri Sforza,
Oc Register,
22 Aug. 2025
Verb
-
In late August, nine Republican House lawmakers sent a letter urging the DOJ to halt a cannabis rescheduling proposal.—
Dario Sabaghi,
Forbes.com,
13 Sep. 2025
-
Nevertheless, meteorologists are urging people to remain alert, as sea temperatures remain high and storms can still form well into October and even November.—
Anna Skinner,
MSNBC Newsweek,
12 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Coaxing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/coaxing. Accessed 17 Sep. 2025.
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