persuade

- definition

What are red words?

90% of the time, speakers of English use just 7,500 words in speech and writing. These words appear in red, and are graded with stars. One-star words are frequent, two-star words are more frequent, and three-star words are the most frequent.

Thesaurus

The thesaurus of synonyms and related words is fully integrated into the dictionary entries. Click on the T button in an entry to review the synonyms and related words for that meaning.

verb [transitive] American English pronunciation: persuade

/pərˈsweɪd/

present tense
I/you/we/they	persuade
he/she/it	persuades
present participle	persuading
past tense	persuaded
past participle	persuaded

Expressing yourself

1
to make someone agree to do something by giving them reasons why they should
He did finally come with us, although it took a long time to persuade him.
persuade someone to do something:
Nobody could persuade her to change her mind.
Thesaurus entry for this meaning of persuade
1. a.
  to cause someone to do something by being a good reason for doing it
  persuade someone to do something:
  What persuaded you to accept the job?
  Thesaurus entry for this meaning of persuade
2
to make someone believe that something is true
Their argument failed to persuade me.
persuade someone of something:
There was no way she could persuade him of her innocence.
persuade someone (that):
I managed to persuade him that it was not his fault.
Thesaurus entry for this meaning of persuade

Expressing yourself: persuade

Ways of persuading someone to do/not do something

It might be a good idea if/It might be better if	a polite way of persuading someone
Why don't you think about/Have you ever thought about	a polite and indirect way of persuading someone
Please	an informal way of persuading someone when you really want them to do something
Go on/Go for it	an informal way of persuading someone to make an effort to achieve something
I'd/We'd really like you to	a strong but polite way of persuading someone
I think you should	a strong and direct way of persuading someone
I'd prefer it if you didn't	a polite but forceful way of persuading someone not to do something
I/We would appreciate it if	a polite way of persuading someone to do or not do something, usually when you are slightly annoyed with them

Examples:

You know, it might be better if you let Maggie drive from now on. You're looking tired.

Why don't you think about taking three weeks' holiday instead of two? It might do you good.

Oh, go on, please come to the party! I don't want to go without you.

Go on, try again. You nearly did it that time. ♦ Look, it's a great opportunity and you may not get another chance – go for it!

We'd really like you to come with us to France. ♦ I think you should forget about the whole thing and just get on with doing your job.

I'd really prefer it if you didn't put your feet on the sofa.

I would appreciate it if you would stop putting your garbage in our bin.

This is the American English definition of persuade. View British English definition of persuade.

Change your default dictionary and thesaurus to British English.

View the pronunciation for persuade.

caxirola

a percussion instrument used by football fans which makes a rattling sound when shaken

BuzzWord Article

More BuzzWords

BuzzWord archive

Word of the Day

emancipation

the process of giving freedom and rights to someone

Open Dictionary

pierce the corporate veil

… the decision to treat the rights and duties of a company as being the same as the rights and duties of its shareholders

add a word

More submissions

view entries

Blog

A must for anyone with an interest in the changing face of language. The Macmillan Dictionary blog explores English as it is spoken around the world today.

global English and language change from our blog