to wheedle
5
7.9
- verb
- /ˈwiːdəl/
:
persuadir
- She thinks she can wheedle me into seeing her.
And self doubt can sort of wheedle its way in, in very sort of nefarious ways.
- And self doubt can sort of wheedle its way in, in very sort of nefarious ways.
- Shawcross wheedled his way into the prison psychiatric unit and he learnt the the psycho battle speak and he and he was counselling other inmates.
Examples
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Dave excelled at wheedling favors, begging treats, and negotiating waivers from family rules.
Fiction book (2002) -
They'd wheedle their little finger around your heart as soon as look at you, all for their own purposes, mind!
-
Or should I be clever, wheedle it out of him?
-
The next step was trying to wheedle people into helping with the "heavy lifting."
Blog text (18) -
What I have tried to do is simply wheedle out a dozen themes that I thought were of some importance.
Academic text (2001) -
I've no time to wheedle the story out of you.
-
"You tell the truth, we can get you life," wheedled DJ.
Fiction book (2001) -
So we wheedled, cajoled, and absolutely insisted that Norman bring you round for tea.
-
"Today's your visitor day," Hana said, trying to wheedle a response from Mel.
Fiction book (2001) -
She tried to wheedle her parents into letting her stay out late on a school night.
Synonyms
54
4.1
To gently persuade someone by being kind and patient
23
5.3
To persuade someone by saying nice things to them
15
7.7
To persuade someone to do something by gentle talk and praise
2
9.5
To get someone to do something by flattering or tricking them
To get someone to do something by saying nice things
Persuade someone with flattering talk to gain an advantage
To gently persuade someone by praise or charm
How Persuasive
Surface Forms
Etymology
Wheedle probably comes from old words that meant 'sweet talk' or 'flattery', and a helpful way to remember it is to picture someone whispering soft praise to get their way. So, to wheedle is to gently persuade or coax someone with flattering words.