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
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of persuading
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
Arkansas Online, 28 Jan. 2026
Turkey has a strained relationship with Israel but good relations with Hamas and could play an important role in persuading the group to yield power in Gaza and disarm.
—Cara Anna, Fortune, 19 Jan. 2026
RideSD has meanwhile had success persuading city planning officials to add more bus routes to new growth blueprints for neighborhoods across the city, including Mira Mesa, University City and the College Area.
—David Garrick, San Diego Union-Tribune, 18 Jan. 2026
Turkey has a strained relationship with Israel but good relations with Hamas and could play an important role in persuading the group to yield power in Gaza and disarm.
—Cara Anna, Los Angeles Times, 18 Jan. 2026
Turkey has a strained relationship with Israel but good relations with Hamas and could play an important role in persuading the group to yield power and disarm.
—Natalie Melzer, Chicago Tribune, 17 Jan. 2026
Danny Jordaan, president of the South African Football Association, tells the story of how Motsepe needed persuading to stand for his current role at CAF and did not step forward until a few days before the closing date for applications.
—Simon Hughes, New York Times, 16 Jan. 2026
Spector told me that, when customers abandon an item in their shopping cart, WhatsApp is six times more effective than e-mail at persuading people to complete their purchases.
—Sam Knight, New Yorker, 12 Jan. 2026
Tsunetomo referred to the example of Nakano Shōgen, who brought peace after persuading his lord, Mitsushige, to apologize for not paying proper respect to certain families within the clan.
—Kenneth Andrew Andres Leonardo, The Conversation, 8 Jan. 2026
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
The steady drumbeat of imagery out of Minnesota is persuading the last few persuadable voters that this deportation campaign has gone too far.
—Arkansas Online, 28 Jan. 2026
Turkey has a strained relationship with Israel but good relations with Hamas and could play an important role in persuading the group to yield power in Gaza and disarm.
—Cara Anna, Fortune, 19 Jan. 2026
RideSD has meanwhile had success persuading city planning officials to add more bus routes to new growth blueprints for neighborhoods across the city, including Mira Mesa, University City and the College Area.
—David Garrick, San Diego Union-Tribune, 18 Jan. 2026
Turkey has a strained relationship with Israel but good relations with Hamas and could play an important role in persuading the group to yield power in Gaza and disarm.
—Cara Anna, Los Angeles Times, 18 Jan. 2026
Turkey has a strained relationship with Israel but good relations with Hamas and could play an important role in persuading the group to yield power and disarm.
—Natalie Melzer, Chicago Tribune, 17 Jan. 2026
Danny Jordaan, president of the South African Football Association, tells the story of how Motsepe needed persuading to stand for his current role at CAF and did not step forward until a few days before the closing date for applications.
—Simon Hughes, New York Times, 16 Jan. 2026
Spector told me that, when customers abandon an item in their shopping cart, WhatsApp is six times more effective than e-mail at persuading people to complete their purchases.
—Sam Knight, New Yorker, 12 Jan. 2026
Tsunetomo referred to the example of Nakano Shōgen, who brought peace after persuading his lord, Mitsushige, to apologize for not paying proper respect to certain families within the clan.
—Kenneth Andrew Andres Leonardo, The Conversation, 8 Jan. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for persuading
Verb
-
Unfortunately, The Joker must lie to his mom by convincing a stranger to be their girlfriend and agree to joining them at a Broadway show.—
Michael Schneider,
Variety,
29 Jan. 2026
-
The mom-to-be’s condition rapidly worsens, with Addison convincing Amelia — again reluctantly — to restore her privileges and scrub in.—
Nellie Andreeva,
Deadline,
29 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
The research team, led by Tianyi Ma, a professor at the School of Science at RMIT, combined the carbon removal and conversion processes into a single step, thereby reducing energy use and the complexity of deploying this process.—
Ameya Paleja,
Interesting Engineering,
27 Jan. 2026
-
The city aims to attract businesses downtown, invest in entrepreneurs and support office-to-residential conversions.—
Jon Murray,
Denver Post,
27 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
These kitchens have moved away from ’90s diet culture and toward satisfying, wholesome meals.—
Annie Daly,
SELF,
28 Jan. 2026
-
Just spending time with him is satisfying enough.—
Rick Kogan,
Chicago Tribune,
27 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
Their power lies not in persuasion, but in legibility.—
Debbie Millman,
Time,
7 Jan. 2026
-
That fosters consensus building, persuasion and accountability.—
Rob Moore,
Mercury News,
6 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Persuading.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/persuading. Accessed 1 Feb. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
