as in coaxing
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as in cajoling
to get (someone) to do something by gentle urging, special attention, or flattery
wheedled him into doing their work for them
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Recent Examples of wheedling
Zach Helfand, New Yorker, 25 Aug. 2025
Natalie Oganesyan, Deadline, 18 Jan. 2026
Noun
Checkers can see your shortcuts, your reportorial wheedling, your blind spots.
—Zach Helfand, New Yorker, 25 Aug. 2025
Verb
In a bid to rekindle the couple’s honeymoon phase, Yasmin troubleshoots by wheedling a chief executive role for him at payment processing company Tender (run by Max Minghella‘s inscrutable puppet-master Whitney Halberstram), and throwing her husband a lavish costume party for his 40th birthday.
—Natalie Oganesyan, Deadline, 18 Jan. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for wheedling
Noun
-
No coaxing or pulling from the crate.—
Cathy M. Rosenthal,
San Antonio Express-News,
26 Feb. 2026
-
Hair that’s naturally less heavy can hold more shape and bounce when styling, but maintaining a full-bodied look might take some extra coaxing.—
Grace McCarty,
Glamour,
9 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
Other Democrats have been more cautious in their approach to similar entreaties.—
Zachary Schermele,
USA Today,
9 Apr. 2026
-
Sununu’s dad served as governor, as did his brother Chris, who refused entreaties to run in the party’s Senate races.—
Burgess Everett,
semafor.com,
27 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
Noun
-
But his stance against the president’s tyranny is a call to action in the same vein as John Paul II’s exhortation to the free world to oppose the Soviet empire.—
Gustavo Arellano,
Los Angeles Times,
10 Apr. 2026
-
Caminero’s sprint included several mid-stride hops and fist pumps and exhortations to the crowd.—
Kevin Acee,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
16 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
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
-
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
Noun
-
Impressed by the senator’s blandishments, the egoistic journalist argues military strategy and then faces a moment of conscience.—
Armond White,
National Review,
17 May 2023
-
People want to hear blandishments about engagement and infrastructure.—
Rory Smith,
New York Times,
14 Apr. 2023
Noun
-
All that remains may be the power of public suasion, but Gilead hasn’t demonstrated much sensitivity to such pressure.—
Business Columnist,
Los Angeles Times,
9 Apr. 2026
-
In some circumstances, moral suasion can also be effective.—
John Cassidy,
New Yorker,
6 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Wheedling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/wheedling. Accessed 19 Apr. 2026.
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