as in persuading
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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
Mike Jones, New York Times, 15 Jan. 2026
Paul Cappiello, Louisville Courier Journal, 16 Jan. 2026
And vendors that are feeling burned might need a little coaxing, even if many of the designers have few easy alternatives to fill the Saks Global-sized hole in their business.
—Footwear News, 14 Jan. 2026
David then spent years coaxing Cruise, along with producer Jerry Bruckheimer and director Tony Scott, to make a sequel.
—Reeves Wiedeman, Vulture, 12 Jan. 2026
Vrabel, who played alongside Brady for Bill Belichick before establishing himself as a coach in Tennessee, led them to a 14-3 record while coaxing a possible MVP performance out of now-sophomore QB Drake Maye.
—Hannah Keyser, CNN Money, 10 Jan. 2026
However, since he was already sidelined, the Colts wound up calling Philip Rivers and coaxing the 44-year-old out of a nearly five-year retirement.
—James Boyd, New York Times, 9 Jan. 2026
Teams clustered around three cauldrons, coaxing different worts to temperature in preparation for fermentation.
—Sean Timberlake, Sacbee.com, 27 Dec. 2025
When Dad came home with every flavor of bagel the bakery sold, their son wasn't interested in eating anything despite lots of coaxing.
—Karen Cicero, Parents, 21 Dec. 2025
Once an engine of radical social upheaval, the Chinese Communist Party is coaxing its citizens toward conservative lifestyles in line with its traditional culture.
—Timothy Nerozzi, The Washington Examiner, 17 Nov. 2025
Noun
Pushing, pulling and coaxing wins out of his team amid bleak situations is what Tomlin does.
—Mike Jones, New York Times, 15 Jan. 2026
Verb
That’s your choice to prioritize more dependable success over bragging rights for coaxing a half dead super-choice plant through the vagaries of a yo-yo bit of winter.
—Paul Cappiello, Louisville Courier Journal, 16 Jan. 2026
And vendors that are feeling burned might need a little coaxing, even if many of the designers have few easy alternatives to fill the Saks Global-sized hole in their business.
—Footwear News, 14 Jan. 2026
David then spent years coaxing Cruise, along with producer Jerry Bruckheimer and director Tony Scott, to make a sequel.
—Reeves Wiedeman, Vulture, 12 Jan. 2026
Vrabel, who played alongside Brady for Bill Belichick before establishing himself as a coach in Tennessee, led them to a 14-3 record while coaxing a possible MVP performance out of now-sophomore QB Drake Maye.
—Hannah Keyser, CNN Money, 10 Jan. 2026
However, since he was already sidelined, the Colts wound up calling Philip Rivers and coaxing the 44-year-old out of a nearly five-year retirement.
—James Boyd, New York Times, 9 Jan. 2026
Teams clustered around three cauldrons, coaxing different worts to temperature in preparation for fermentation.
—Sean Timberlake, Sacbee.com, 27 Dec. 2025
When Dad came home with every flavor of bagel the bakery sold, their son wasn't interested in eating anything despite lots of coaxing.
—Karen Cicero, Parents, 21 Dec. 2025
Once an engine of radical social upheaval, the Chinese Communist Party is coaxing its citizens toward conservative lifestyles in line with its traditional culture.
—Timothy Nerozzi, The Washington Examiner, 17 Nov. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for coaxing
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
Verb
-
Europe has long underspent on defense, and where American cajoling for decades had not worked, a few face slaps succeeded.—
Eliot A. Cohen,
The Atlantic,
19 Jan. 2026
-
Although Texas, Missouri, Ohio and North Carolina went along, Indiana did not -- despite cajoling and insults from the president and the possibility of primary challenges.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
12 Dec. 2025
Noun
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Checkers can see your shortcuts, your reportorial wheedling, your blind spots.—
Zach Helfand,
New Yorker,
25 Aug. 2025
Verb
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After luring her into his car under false pretenses, Wilson beat and strangled Ruiz before pushing her out of the vehicle and running her over multiple times, according to USA Today.—
Yasmeen Hamadeh,
PEOPLE,
21 Jan. 2026
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In the meantime, though, amid Barca reportedly wanting a higher €10 million fee from PSG as a goodwill gesture, SPORT has explained that Luis Enrique played a huge role in luring the teenager whom Flick gave his first team debut to earlier this term.—
Tom Sanderson,
Forbes.com,
21 Jan. 2026
Verb
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And a whole succession of leaders from countries that are nominally still American allies — Britain, Germany, South Korea — are wooing rather than shunning Beijing to deepen economic cooperation.—
Andreas Kluth,
Twin Cities,
22 Jan. 2026
-
Greivis Vasquez, the key to Toronto wooing Kevin Durant.—
Zach Harper,
New York Times,
16 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
In the complaint, which was first filed in September in a North Carolina state court, plaintiff Heather Ammel accused Sinema of seducing her ex-husband Matthew Ammel, who began working for Sinema in April 2022 as part of her security detail.—
Chad de Guzman,
Time,
16 Jan. 2026
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In Arthur Penn’s 1975 neo-noir Night Moves, Griffith is Delly Grastner, a 16-year-old runaway with a little girl’s voice and a grown woman’s body—on full display in an underwater nude scene—intent on seducing Gene Hackman, 43 and paunchy.—
Lili Anolik,
Vanity Fair,
12 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
That decision was prompted in no small part by Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang’s entreaties to Trump.—
Bloomberg,
Mercury News,
22 Jan. 2026
-
Moscow is, so far, rebuffing its peace entreaties over Ukraine.—
Nick Paton Walsh,
CNN Money,
21 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
Following its parent organization’s lead, the nonprofit’s San Diego chapter is urging the public to schedule donation appointments in a dozen cities across San Diego County.—
Paul Sisson,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
22 Jan. 2026
-
Davis police say the investigation is ongoing and are urging anyone with information to come forward.—
Richard Ramos,
CBS News,
21 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Coaxing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/coaxing. Accessed 25 Jan. 2026.
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