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Glite Dictionary
to put up to

to put up to

1 6.8
To persuade someone to do something they would not do on their own
  • phrasal verb
  • Informal
translation icon : incitar
  • Why had Lisa Lee been put up to this?

Examples

  • She was put up to tell her friend to apply for the job, even though she was hesitant at first.

  • Was he put up to this by the Russians?

    NOVA: Cold Case JFK (2013)

  • They put him up to ask the teacher for extra credit when he didn't want to.

  • He was put up to join the team by his classmates, who believed he could contribute greatly.

Synonyms

to convince
vsto put up to
∞ 2.7

Make someone believe something is true or agree to do something

is similar but often stresses getting someone to take an action they hesitate about
to push
vsto put up to
958 1.1

To urge someone to do something or try harder

is similar but can be gentler or less forceful in tone
to persuade
vsto put up to
472 2.7

To make someone agree or do something by giving reasons

is about getting someone to act on something they might not do otherwise
to motivate
vsto put up to
437 3.5

Make someone want to do something

is more about urging a specific act rather than creating lasting drive
to lure
vsto put up to
270 3.7

To get someone to do something by offering a reward or making false promises

is similar but does not necessarily rely on attractive offers or tricks
to talk into
vsto put up to
236 3.0

Make someone agree to do something by giving reasons

is broader and can involve urging beyond just talking
to entice
vsto put up to
61 4.9

To persuade someone to do something by offering something they want

is less about offering rewards and more about urging or persuading directly
to induce
vsto put up to
51 4.9

Persuade someone to do something

focuses more on urging or persuading someone who might resist
to propel
vsto put up to
45 4.7

To make someone want to do something

is narrower, focusing on prompting a particular act rather than broad drive
to exhort
vsto put up to
  • Formal
16 7.7

To strongly encourage someone to do something

is about encouraging action, not always with the same strong insistence
to rope in
vsto put up to
  • Informal
2 5.4

Convince someone to join an activity, often when they do not want to

is more general, covering any urging to act, not only joining activities
to bring round
vsto put up to
  • UK
4.4

To persuade someone to accept your idea or plan

is more about prompting action rather than only changing belief
to give a prod
vsto put up to
3.9

Encourage someone gently to start doing something

uses stronger prompting aimed at convincing action someone might resist

Antonyms

to dissuade
35 6.0

To try to stop someone from doing something by talking to them

How Persuasive

to coerce
  • Offensive
91 6.4
to pressure
149 4.2
to persuade
472 2.7
to put up to
  • Informal
1 6.8
to encourage
∞ 2.3
to suggest
∞ 1.6
to hint
136 2.0

Surface Forms

put up to infinitive
put up to past
put up to past participle
putting up to present participle
puts up to third person singular

Morphology

put + up + to

The sense 'to encourage or persuade someone to do something' is not directly derivable from the literal meanings of 'put' (place/bring) plus the particles 'up' and 'to'; the sequence functions as an idiomatic phrasal verb meaning 'instigate' or 'incite' (often toward wrongdoing). A B1 learner who only knows the constituent words would not reliably infer this meaning without prior exposure.

Etymology

The phrasal verb put up to gives the picture of someone using put + up — a small push or nudge that moves a person toward doing something. So, it means 'to encourage or persuade someone to do something', especially something they might not do on their own.