as in convincing
the act of reasoning or pleading with someone to accept a belief or course of action
a defense lawyer uses not only legal arguments but also moral suasion to appeal to a jury's sense of right and wrong
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
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 suasion
Finally, the original Concert vision embraced formal deliberation and moral suasion as the key mechanism of collaborative foreign policy.
—
Stacie E. Goddard, Foreign Affairs, 22 Apr. 2025
The 60th anniversary of President Lyndon Johnson’s famous March 15, 1965, voting rights speech is an important reminder of the power of moral suasion when applied in support of basic democratic principles.
—Michael Peregrine, Chicago Tribune, 14 Mar. 2025
To that end, an objection by an athlete who is a class member and who stands to lose out from the settlement’s approval will likely have suasion.
—Daniel Libit, Sportico.com, 7 Feb. 2025
Some will argue that self-expression is the goal, others moral suasion; some will prefer soft power to storming the barricades and some the reverse.
—Mark Olsen, Los Angeles Times, 27 Sep. 2024
See All Example Sentences for suasion
Stacie E. Goddard, Foreign Affairs, 22 Apr. 2025
The 60th anniversary of President Lyndon Johnson’s famous March 15, 1965, voting rights speech is an important reminder of the power of moral suasion when applied in support of basic democratic principles.
—Michael Peregrine, Chicago Tribune, 14 Mar. 2025
To that end, an objection by an athlete who is a class member and who stands to lose out from the settlement’s approval will likely have suasion.
—Daniel Libit, Sportico.com, 7 Feb. 2025
Some will argue that self-expression is the goal, others moral suasion; some will prefer soft power to storming the barricades and some the reverse.
—Mark Olsen, Los Angeles Times, 27 Sep. 2024
See All Example Sentences for suasion
Recent Examples of Synonyms for suasion
Noun
-
Sales in this industry is less about persuasion and more about education and communication.—
Brynn Cooksey,
Forbes.com,
31 Aug. 2025
-
Knowledge-wise, science may be advancing, but, politically, its powers of persuasion are in retreat, in a moment defined, in many ways, by ignorance and narrow-minded grievance.—
Jon Allsop,
New Yorker,
29 Aug. 2025
Noun
-
Transactions across 300 stores, e-commerce, loyalty scans, TikTok Shop sales, creator posts, and affiliate conversions all flow into systems built by Chief Digital and Information Officer Shirley Gao.—
Jamie Gutfreund,
Forbes.com,
9 Sep. 2025
-
Williams and the Bears began to stall completely on securing crucial third down conversions.—
James Brizuela,
MSNBC Newsweek,
9 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
The material contained on this site is intended to inform, entertain and educate the reader and in no way represents an inducement to gamble legally or illegally or any sort of professional advice.—
Stephanie Kuzydym,
The Courier-Journal,
3 Sep. 2025
-
The material contained on this site is intended to inform, entertain and educate the reader and in no way represents an inducement to gamble legally or illegally or any sort of professional advice.—
Ethan Hylton,
IndyStar,
20 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Suasion.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/suasion. Accessed 10 Sep. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share