wheedling 1 of 2

noun

as in coaxing

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wheedling

2 of 2

verb

present participle of wheedle
as in cajoling
to get (someone) to do something by gentle urging, special attention, or flattery wheedled him into doing their work for them

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 wheedling
Noun
Checkers can see your shortcuts, your reportorial wheedling, your blind spots. — Zach Helfand, New Yorker, 25 Aug. 2025
Verb
There has always been friction between Reed and Helen, but in the main, Reed has been successful in using a shifting combination of wheedling, scolding, complimenting, and threatening to ensure Helen fullfils her mission objectives. — Sophie Brookover, Vulture, 5 Nov. 2026 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
  1. coaxing
  2. entreaty
  3. persuading
  4. exhortation
  5. inducement
  6. blandishment
  7. suasion
Noun
  • Her debut was a bit of a fluke at the coaxing of her close friend, the harpist and DJ Mary Lattimore.
    — Mikey O'Connell, HollywoodReporter, 30 Oct. 2026
  • Spider Plant Unlike snake plants, spider plants need no coaxing to make more plants for your collection.
    — Lauren Landers, Better Homes & Gardens, 13 Sep. 2026
Definition of coaxing
Noun
  • But such is the scale of Brazil’s polarization that many Brazilians are insensible to Lula’s entreaties and want the left defeated.
    — Ishaan Tharoor, New Yorker, 21 Oct. 2026
  • Abroad, their entreaties had remained unsuccessful, their diplomats had remained unrecognized, and their national existence had remained unrealized.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 19 Oct. 2026
Definition of entreaty
Noun
  • Technical knowledge can be taught and examined but the skills Freebairn values most, such as influencing, persuading, and negotiating, cannot.
    — Sam Birchall, Fortune, 23 Oct. 2026
  • In reality, Blanding says, her sister didn’t need much persuading.
    — Ashley Vega, PEOPLE, 17 Aug. 2026
Definition of persuading
Noun
  • The speech would end with an exhortation for Congress to pass the SAVE America Act, a bill requiring voters to provide documentary proof of citizenship to register, which Mitchell had helped draft.
    — Doug Bock Clark, ProPublica, 28 Oct. 2026
  • Duckworth also faced backlash from critics who argued that her message was, at best, a series of hollow exhortations to simply try harder and, at worst, an insidious form of victim-blaming that ignored structural inequality.
    — Meghan O’Gieblyn, New Yorker, 14 Sep. 2026
Definition of exhortation
Noun
  • Does not America offer any inducement for men to settle here?
    — René Ostberg, Encyclopedia Britannica, 30 Oct. 2026
  • At this point, many of the magnets provide no discernible integration benefit and are viewed instead as inducements for any student to enroll.
    — Howard Blume, Los Angeles Times, 19 Oct. 2026
Definition of inducement
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
Definition of blandishment
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
Definition of suasion

Browse Nearby Words

wheedles
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Cite this Entry

“Wheedling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/wheedling. Accessed 14 Nov. 2026.

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