- the act of persuading or of trying to persuade
- the power to persuade
- the state of being persuaded; strong belief
- an established creed or belief, esp a religious one
- a sect, party, or faction
WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026
per•sua•sion /pɚˈsweɪʒən/USA pronunciation
n.
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026- the act of persuading or seeking to persuade:[uncountable]With a little persuasion they might help you.
- power to persuade:[uncountable]arguments with a great deal of persuasion behind them.
- Religion a form or system of belief:[countable]those of the liberal persuasion.
- a group, faction, kind, or sort:[countable]musicians of the New Wave persuasion.
per•sua•sion
(pər swā′zhən),USA pronunciation n.
- the act of persuading or seeking to persuade.
- the power of persuading;
persuasive force. - the state or fact of being persuaded or convinced.
- a deep conviction or belief.
- Religiona form or system of belief, esp. religious belief:the Quaker persuasion.
- a sect, group, or faction holding or advocating a particular belief, idea, ideology, etc.:Several of the people present are of the socialist persuasion.
- Slang Terms[Facetious.]kind or sort.
- Latin, as above
- Middle French persuacion
- Latin persuāsiōn- (stem of persuāsiō; see per-, suasion); replacing Middle English persuacioun
- late Middle English 1350–1400
- 1. See advice.
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
persuasion /pəˈsweɪʒən/ n
'persuasion' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):
bribe
- carrot
- constrain
- dissuade
- finagle
- hold out
- inducement
- inexorable
- infection
- obdurate
- press gang
- sales pitch
- suasion
- subdue
- uppity
- voluntary
- vulnerable
- weak-kneed
- yield
- advice
- agree
- amenable
- arm-twisting
- authority
- belief
- cajolery
- coax
- come
- crimp
- deprogram
- flimflam
- induce
- jawbone
- obstinate
- opinion
- overpersuade
- persuasible
- pressure point
- prevail
- urge
- self-persuasion
- soft sell
- suggestion