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
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Recent Examples of suasion
In this newest cover-up, Clooney repeats his film’s original failing — its nostalgic salute to the power of electronic media suasion.
—
Armond White, National Review, 30 Apr. 2025
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
See All Example Sentences for suasion
Armond White, National Review, 30 Apr. 2025
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
See All Example Sentences for suasion
Recent Examples of Synonyms for suasion
Noun
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Some effort at persuasion seemed to be an accepted precondition for war.—
Fintan O’Toole,
The New York Review of Books,
9 Apr. 2026
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Reluctance to commit to a binary political persuasion also fuels the feisty remarks and damage-control campaigns of Oklahoma’s Zach Bryan and the pressure on Tennessee crossover folk-pop star and rapper Jelly Roll to honor his Grammys promise to state his position on ICE.—
Craig Jenkins,
Vulture,
8 Apr. 2026
Noun
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Formatting breaks, conversions get messy, and scanned documents feel painful to work with.—
StackCommerce Team,
PC Magazine,
14 Apr. 2026
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The county’s housing bonds will support mixed-use development, such as the conversion of office buildings into residences above retail.—
Frederick Melo,
Twin Cities,
14 Apr. 2026
Noun
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The agony of America’s post-1945 wars has been their gradual inducement of a sense of futility.—
Fintan O’Toole,
The New York Review of Books,
9 Apr. 2026
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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,
Louisville Courier Journal,
1 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Suasion.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/suasion. Accessed 19 Apr. 2026.
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