Meaning & use
persuasion
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Meanings
noununcountable
The act of getting someone to agree, believe or take action by giving reasons or appealing to their feelings.
Grammar: Usually has no plural or article: it took some persuasion, not a persuasion.
Patterns
- the power of persuasion
- take some persuasion
- use persuasion on someone
It took a little persuasion, but Dad finally agreed to come.
Good advertisers are experts in the art of persuasion.
She used gentle persuasion rather than orders.
nouncountableformal
A particular set of beliefs, especially religious or political ones, or the group of people who hold them.
Grammar: Often follows a modifier in the phrase of a certain persuasion: a person of liberal persuasion.
Patterns
- of a particular persuasion
- of every persuasion
The newspaper welcomes writers of every political persuasion.
Voters of all persuasions turned out to hear her speak.
He is a Christian of the Baptist persuasion.
Word forms
| plural | persuasions |
|---|
Common combinations
- powers of persuasion
- With her powers of persuasion, she talked the board into the plan.
- gentle persuasion
- A bit of gentle persuasion got the kids into their coats.
- take some persuasion
- It will take some persuasion to change his mind.
- political persuasion
- People of every political persuasion attended the rally.
- skills of persuasion
- Lawyers train their skills of persuasion every day.
Synonyms and how they differ
- convincing
- Convincing as a noun is rare; persuasion usually implies leading someone to act, while convincing focuses on making them believe.
- coaxing
- Coaxing is softer and more personal, suggesting patient, friendly effort, while persuasion can be formal or argued.
- inducement
- Inducement suggests a reward or incentive offered to get something done, not only argument.
- belief
- For the second sense, belief is broader; persuasion points to a particular school or camp of opinion.
Opposites
Word family
- persuade verb
- to get someone to do or believe something
- persuasive adjective
- able to convince others
- persuasively adverb
- in a convincing way
- persuader noun
- a person who persuades
Commonly confused: persuasion or perusal?
persuasion vs perusal
Perusal means careful reading, and it looks and sounds a little like persuasion but has nothing to do with convincing people.
Practice
The manager's ___ finally won the team over to the new schedule.
Choose one answer.
Persuasion means winning people over with reasons. Dissuasion is the opposite, coercion implies force, and perusal means reading.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “persuasion”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.