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Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
persuade
verb
COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES
let yourself be beaten/persuaded/fooled etc
▪ I stupidly let myself be persuaded to take part in a live debate.
COLLOCATIONS FROM CORPUS
■ ADVERB
easily
▪ This is another rasbora which is quite easily persuaded to breed in aquarium conditions.
finally
▪ A succession of scandals finally persuaded his father that William must seek his fortune overseas.
▪ The group members then went hunting for another buyer, finally persuading media giant Gannett Co. to buy their option.
▪ He finally persuaded Bolton to sell, but the asking price was an unprecedented £13,000, twice the previous record.
▪ Friends said two factors had finally persuaded him to join the contest.
▪ I went to see her, and I've finally persuaded her to see Martin again.
▪ Anya, possibly by waving her gun again, has finally persuaded Riva to change into drier clothes.
■ NOUN
attempt
▪ The union will engage in negotiations with the employers in an attempt to persuade them that the wage claim is justified.
▪ There was no attempt to persuade him to reconsider.
▪ Mr Mullin said that any attempt to persuade clubs to end discrimination by blocking their entitlement to rates relief was illegal.
▪ He had failed miserably in an attempt to persuade a Goan shopkeeper to buy a shipment of canned milk.
▪ April 23-24 Baker fails in his attempt to persuade Assad to moderate his position during talks in Damascus.
▪ There was no attempt to persuade and the result was that I blew up.
▪ The same would apply to attempts to persuade some one to refrain from doing so.
authority
▪ He also persuaded the college authorities that they ought to embark on a class project and construction was started in November 1936.
▪ There may still be time to persuade the authorities to relocate her rather than remove her from the wild.
campaign
▪ The Victorian Society mounted a campaign to persuade us to take it on.
▪ Separate animal rights organisations now work together in co-ordinated campaigns to persuade teenagers that animals should not be used in research.
▪ In Cambridge, there was a campaign to persuade students to register in the city, which was a marginal Conservative seat.
council
▪ How do you persuade the research council or the science supremo of an industrial research outfit to fund your brilliant new ideas?
▪ Joy Holloway lived next door to the kennels until she persuaded the council to rehouse her.
▪ Attempt to persuade the City Council to discontinue its dangerous and extravagant traffic schemes near the Donnington area.
▪ The success of the clubs persuaded Hounslow Borough Council to take them over as part of its educational support service.
▪ Next month he will try to persuade Great Aycliffe Town Council to spend £44,000 on a bus adapted for disabled people.
▪ Now supporters are trying to persuade the council not to go ahead with the plans.
court
▪ He persuaded the court that she must have raped him.
▪ It is difficult to persuade the Court of Appeal to alter a finding of direct fact by the trial judge.
difficulty
▪ The YCs often have difficulty in persuading their members to agree to perform administrative offices.
▪ I had such difficulty persuading him to take Brückner's story seriously.
▪ We had difficulty persuading our kids out of the creche and into their different groups, they liked the wee ones so much!
effort
▪ Fewer than 200 people took part in the trial, despite efforts to persuade more homeowners to get involved.
▪ In an effort to persuade cells to respond, even more insulin is released.
▪ Despite Dycarbas's efforts to persuade Eustathius and command Emilia, they can not moderate their behaviour.
▪ William Reilly's efforts to persuade the Administration to agree to sign was reportedly the prime focus of tension between them.
▪ I shall not abandon the effort to persuade you otherwise.
▪ When efforts to persuade them to go proved fruitless, the building began to be demolished around their heads.
friend
▪ He therefore persuaded a friend to procure him a ticket without disclosing his identity.
▪ Pipkins was so enthusiastic that she persuaded 15 friends and colleagues to go with her.
▪ They also thought it likely that two allies could bring that about - an outraged civilian persuading his powerful military friend.
▪ In vain I tried to persuade friends that even without glasses it was possible to experience the phenomenon.
▪ A woman who persuades a friend to donate oocytes will not get them herself.
government
▪ When Lubbock was returned to Parliament in 1881, he persuaded Gladstone's Liberal government to take up the cause.
▪ Obviously, an organization benefits greatly when its interest group persuades the government to allow it to regulate itself.
▪ Alternatively, a hard-pressed sector may seek to persuade its government to invoke anti-dumping measures.
▪ Perhaps this would be a way of persuading the government to accept the proposal.
▪ By 1833 they had persuaded the government to provide a small grant towards this work.
▪ Helped persuade the Government to spend £200m cleaning Britain's beaches and £600m cleaning aerial discharges from coal-fired power stations.
▪ Eventually public concern for his safety persuaded the New Zealand Government of the day to introduce special protective legislation.
leader
▪ There were strong arguments to persuade Labour leaders to lower their sights in terms of national economic policy.
■ VERB
fail
▪ When he failed to persuade her to cancel it, he asked her for a date - and romance blossomed.
▪ He fails to persuade Hindus to repudiate the divisive and unjust social caste system.
▪ Having failed to persuade Mr Shankly to change his mind, Liverpool's board resisted the temptation to appoint another charismatic manager.
▪ When he failed, Bottger persuaded the king that he could find the formula for making porcelain -- and he did.
▪ To judge from the polls, he was failing to persuade voters that he was chancellor material.
▪ In offhand style we had named him Fred, but had failed to persuade him to eat anything.
▪ They didn't work for the Labour Party, which failed to persuade the voters of the value of self-sacrifice.
▪ So the best lobbyists make a point of never showing anger when they fail to persuade.
help
▪ The prime minister hopes that Mr Peres can help him persuade leftwingers and Arabs that he is still a peacemaker.
▪ Yet they have helped persuade a suspicious population to accept Mr Salinas's much-needed reforms.
hope
▪ The archdiocese still hopes to persuade the city to exempt Catholic Charities from the domestic partners ordinance, he said.
▪ The best he could hope for was to persuade Nev Hodgkinson to give him his money back.
▪ And so he put Sherry on contract, hoping to persuade her to go back to a two-year college.
▪ This won't be obvious yet, but I hope to persuade you of it.
▪ They hope to persuade the new operator to including a stop near the Haslemere Hospital in this route.
▪ The company hopes that it can persuade most of the surplus employees to go quietly, accepting voluntary redundancy.
manage
▪ We managed to persuade them to come and sit with us and she ended up next to me.
▪ Opposition experts have managed to persuade themselves that Bush is hoping to drop the plan.
▪ Only how had Leo managed to persuade him?
▪ So as a sideline I managed to persuade them to put out an album of the more acoustic stuff.
▪ Swiftly she caught him under the armpits and heaved until she managed to persuade him from the ground.
▪ Well, you managed to persuade the young lady to leave the Godstowe road for a spot you had previously chosen.
▪ She managed to persuade Ernest to take a proportion of this to augment his savings.
▪ We managed to persuade him not to perform the whole work during the wedding ceremony.
seek
▪ Alternatively, a hard-pressed sector may seek to persuade its government to invoke anti-dumping measures.
▪ They will seek to persuade journalists to support their client's case in appropriate newspaper articles.
▪ Dozens seized his point and sought to persuade the politicians and the public.
▪ The law should not encourage B to yield to the threat but should seek to persuade him to resist it.
▪ To influence, to seek to persuade, yes: to decide, no.
▪ Monsanto will never repeat the mistake of seeking to persuade consumers that they might wish to purchase its products.
try
▪ They had tried to persuade Harry to have a bed in their dormitory but he wouldn't agree.
▪ Although Bush and Clinton tried to persuade Congress to pay off the debt, the lawmakers have balked at doing so.
▪ The police spent two days trying to persuade the butcher to give them the name or names of his supplier.
▪ Amelia heard the newsmen trying to persuade the fliers to get dressed and have their picture taken.
▪ Using the techniques of forum theatre, the class try to persuade the old man to sell his house and land.
▪ But it takes great courage for a politician to try and persuade voters of that fact.
▪ It would be futile now to think of trying to persuade Jake to rethink his intended marriage to Janice.
▪ I have the onerous job on her father's behalf of trying to persuade her to return.
EXAMPLES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
▪ After this accident, it will be difficult for the government to persuade people that nuclear power stations are safe.
▪ He eventually managed to persuade me that the documents were genuine.
▪ He was convicted of the murder, but he is still trying to persuade the public that he's innocent.
▪ I tried to persuade his ex-girlfriend to talk to him, but she said no.
▪ Maguire said he was not persuaded by criticisms in the media.
▪ Neil didn't want to come at first, but we persuaded him.
▪ Teachers need ways to persuade more parents to attend parent-teacher evenings.
▪ We want to persuade them of the value of diplomacy and talks to resolve disputes.
EXAMPLES FROM CORPUS
▪ As a result, she persuaded Jeff to seek professional counselling.
▪ In response, the chief executive needs to establish a clear vision and persuade the top team to accept that vision.
▪ Incidentally, how did you persuade Michael Heseltine to write it for you?
▪ It is difficult to persuade the Court of Appeal to alter a finding of direct fact by the trial judge.
▪ It will persuade our big men to turn honest after elections and trust to the mercy of the jury.
▪ Probably these men were persuaded to relinquish their rights for a sum of money in lieu.
▪ Some patients report troubles persuading their managed-care health plans to provide cutting-edge care.
▪ They have to be persuaded to buy a stock, or indeed, sell it.
The Collaborative International Dictionary
Persuade

Persuade \Per*suade"\, v. i. To use persuasion; to plead; to prevail by persuasion.
--Shak.

Persuade

Persuade \Per*suade"\, n. Persuasion. [Obs.]
--Beau. & Fl.

Persuade

Persuade \Per*suade"\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Persuaded; p. pr. & vb. n. Persuading.] [L. persuadere, persuasum; per + suadere to advise, persuade: cf. F. persuader. See Per-, and Suasion.]

  1. To influence or gain over by argument, advice, entreaty, expostulation, etc.; to draw or incline to a determination by presenting sufficient motives.

    Almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian.
    --Acts xxvi. 28.

    We will persuade him, be it possible.
    --Shak.

  2. To try to influence. [Obsolescent]

    Hearken not unto Hezekiah, when he persuadeth you.
    --2 Kings xviii. 32.

  3. To convince by argument, or by reasons offered or suggested from reflection, etc.; to cause to believe.

    Beloved, we are persuaded better things of you.
    --Heb. vi. 9.

  4. To inculcate by argument or expostulation; to advise; to recommend.
    --Jer. Taylor.

    Syn: To convince; induce; prevail on; win over; allure; entice. See Convince.

Douglas Harper's Etymology Dictionary
persuade

1510s, from Middle French persuader (14c.), from Latin persuadere "to bring over by talking," (see persuasion). Related: Persuaded; persuading.

Wiktionary
persuade

vb. (context transitive English) To successfully convince (someone) to agree to, accept, or do something, usually through reasoning and verbal influence. Compare sway.

WordNet
persuade
  1. v. win approval or support for; "Carry all before one"; "His speech did not sway the voters" [syn: carry, sway]

  2. cause somebody to adopt a certain position, belief, or course of action; twist somebody's arm; "You can't persuade me to buy this ugly vase!" [ant: dissuade]

Usage examples of "persuade".

I was useless to myself and family and had about persuaded myself it would be better to take my life, and I think I should have done so had not a copy of the Common Sense Medical Adviser happened to fall into my hands.

Winant of the European Advisory Commission shortly after Kennan had persuaded Roosevelt to accept the Berlin zoning agreements.

It is a very ancient reproach, suggested by the ignorance or the malice of infidelity, that the Christians allured into their party the most atrocious criminals, who, as soon as they were touched by a sense of remorse, were easily persuaded to wash away, in the water of baptism, the guilt of their past conduct, for which the temples of the gods refused to grant them any expiation.

Captain Morgan was persuaded that in the wood the Spaniards had placed an ambuscade, as lying so conveniently for that purpose.

I am persuaded your charming society has amply recompensed her for the favor she did me.

Fritigern, who already felt the inconveniences of anarchy, were easily persuaded to acknowledge for their king a Gothic Judge, whose birth they respected, and whose abilities they had frequently experienced.

Avignon was persuaded, that the successful rebel could alone appease and reform the anarchy of the metropolis.

An English priest would not annul her marriage, but a Scottish priest might be persuaded to see things her way.

The very habit of our thoughts may be persuaded one way unawares by their antenatal history.

And active, to work deliverance and safety not only to these two kingdoms, but to all other Christian churches groaning under, or in danger of, the yoke of Antichristian tyranny, whom God shall persuade to join in the same, or like association and covenant.

The Romans, who now aspired only to the permission of a safe and speedy retreat, endeavored to persuade themselves, that this formidable appearance was occasioned by a troop of wild asses, or perhaps by the approach of some friendly Arabs.

Valens was persuaded, that royal liberality can be supplied only by public oppression, and his ambition never aspired to secure, by their actual distress, the future strength and prosperity of his people.

Slanderers or impostors had persuaded this young coxcomb that Casimir, the King of Poland, whilst dwelling in Paris in the quality of a simple gentleman, had shown himself most assiduous to Madame Brisacier, and that he, Brisacier of France, was born of these assiduities of the Polish prince.

Zionists additionally saw revolutionary Marxism as an assimilationist enemy which persuaded them to ally against it with their fellow separatists of the anti-Semitic right-wing nationalist movements in Eastern Europe.

Matekoni were to try to persuade the apprentice to return, it might work, but at the same time it could have dire consequences for his future behaviour.