as in convincing
the act of reasoning or pleading with someone to accept a belief or course of action
no amount of persuading could make her change her mind
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
as in satisfying
to cause (someone) to agree with a belief or course of action by using arguments or earnest request
she persuaded us that she can indeed communicate with the dead he persuaded his teachers to grant an extension
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of persuading
Mekishana Pierre, Entertainment Weekly, 7 Apr. 2026
Each distortion is what happens when the body does the persuading, and the ideas are just the wardrobe.
—Alexis Coe, Vanity Fair, 18 Mar. 2026
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
Dan Walters, Mercury News, 3 Apr. 2026
The job of persuading players with Congolese ties to represent the country’s national team on its long-shot run to the World Cup fell to Gabriel Zakuani, a Congolese player whose career had been spent mostly in England.
—Andrew Greif, NBC news, 1 Apr. 2026
These include persuading companies to hire them as IT workers—and the techniques used to trick me.
—Ben Weiss, Fortune, 1 Apr. 2026
During his six-year career at the agency, in the early two-thousands, Chalker says, his work persuading Iranian scientists to defect yielded key details about their nation’s nuclear-weapons program.
—David Remnick, New Yorker, 30 Mar. 2026
Ever since the first caveman tricked his neighbor into trading a pile of rocks for some tasty mastodon steaks, con men have been persuading others to act against their own interests.
—Neil J. Rubenking, PC Magazine, 27 Mar. 2026
For Fahey and Lawler, the fair emerged from years spent persuading friends and collectors to visit the region.
—Jane Horowitz, Los Angeles Times, 23 Mar. 2026
The 16th and 17th century wars of religion saw reformers like Martin Luther painting the Roman Catholic Church in apocalyptic terms resulting in much bloodshed and likely persuading the Founding Fathers to include the disestablishment clause in the Constitution.
—Chloe Breyer, New York Daily News, 22 Mar. 2026
Preller then made a franchise-changing move by persuading pitching coach Ruben Niebla to leave pitching-savvy Cleveland.
—Tom Krasovic, San Diego Union-Tribune, 20 Mar. 2026
Noun
The 70-year-old was explaining how the revival came about through years-long persuading of Emmy-winning creator and executive producer Linwood Boomer.
—Mekishana Pierre, Entertainment Weekly, 7 Apr. 2026
Each distortion is what happens when the body does the persuading, and the ideas are just the wardrobe.
—Alexis Coe, Vanity Fair, 18 Mar. 2026
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
That would involve changing some state laws, persuading housing lenders to be more accommodating and overcoming resistance from construction unions.
—Dan Walters, Mercury News, 3 Apr. 2026
The job of persuading players with Congolese ties to represent the country’s national team on its long-shot run to the World Cup fell to Gabriel Zakuani, a Congolese player whose career had been spent mostly in England.
—Andrew Greif, NBC news, 1 Apr. 2026
These include persuading companies to hire them as IT workers—and the techniques used to trick me.
—Ben Weiss, Fortune, 1 Apr. 2026
During his six-year career at the agency, in the early two-thousands, Chalker says, his work persuading Iranian scientists to defect yielded key details about their nation’s nuclear-weapons program.
—David Remnick, New Yorker, 30 Mar. 2026
Ever since the first caveman tricked his neighbor into trading a pile of rocks for some tasty mastodon steaks, con men have been persuading others to act against their own interests.
—Neil J. Rubenking, PC Magazine, 27 Mar. 2026
For Fahey and Lawler, the fair emerged from years spent persuading friends and collectors to visit the region.
—Jane Horowitz, Los Angeles Times, 23 Mar. 2026
The 16th and 17th century wars of religion saw reformers like Martin Luther painting the Roman Catholic Church in apocalyptic terms resulting in much bloodshed and likely persuading the Founding Fathers to include the disestablishment clause in the Constitution.
—Chloe Breyer, New York Daily News, 22 Mar. 2026
Preller then made a franchise-changing move by persuading pitching coach Ruben Niebla to leave pitching-savvy Cleveland.
—Tom Krasovic, San Diego Union-Tribune, 20 Mar. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for persuading
Verb
-
One talent manager equated it to dishing out free samples at an ice cream store, with the hopes of convincing TikTok, Instagram Reels and YouTube Shorts users to try creators’ longer videos.—
Andrew Zucker,
HollywoodReporter,
9 Apr. 2026
-
Clooney’s hair is reason enough to add it to your lineup, but Amazon shoppers are convincing me, too.—
Eva Thomas,
InStyle,
9 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Nationally, office-to-apartment conversions continue to increase.—
Desiree Mathurin
April 8,
Charlotte Observer,
8 Apr. 2026
-
As an incentive, the bill would limit the percentage of water the buyer can use during the conversion process.—
Krista Kafer,
Denver Post,
7 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Caroline first learned about the Hole in her twenties by reading mommy blogs, a form of procrastination less about satisfying any conscious curiosity about motherhood and more about finding comfort in the easy intimacy with which these women wrote about their own lives.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
9 Apr. 2026
-
Previte understands how to package a selection of dishes to deliver the most consistent, nourishing experience, satisfying in both its unity and variety.—
Bill Addison,
Los Angeles Times,
9 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Power, persuasion, popularity, even profit push us to keep our mouths shut.—
Case Thorp,
The Orlando Sentinel,
5 Apr. 2026
-
While ashy shades of all persuasions have been trending lately, this incredibly striking look transforms black hair with cool ashy gray balayage.—
Kaitlyn Yarborough,
Southern Living,
4 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Persuading.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/persuading. Accessed 11 Apr. 2026.
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