Meaning & use

persuasive

adjective·Academic

Able to make people believe or do something through effective argument or appeal.

See it in a sentence

Her persuasive speech convinced the board to fund the new community center.

The salesman was so persuasive that we almost bought a car we didn't need.

A note on using this word

Persuasive describes the effect of an argument on an audience, while persuaded describes the audience's resulting state of mind.

Words with a similar meaning

convincingcompelling

Choose a synonym to suit the sentence. Meanings can overlap without being identical.

Words with an opposite meaning

unconvincing

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