persuasive

English

Etymology

From Middle French persuasif, from Medieval Latin persuāsīvus, from Latin past participle stem of persuādēre + -īvus.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /pə(ɹ)ˈsweɪsɪv/

• Audio (RP)

  (file)

• Audio (Mid-Atlantic)

  (file)

Adjective

persuasive (comparative more persuasive, superlative most persuasive)

1. Able to persuade; convincing.

   Synonyms: convincing, (obsolete) flexanimous, inducing, (rare) inducive, (obsolete, rare) inductious, (obsolete, rare) persuadable, persuading, (now rare) persuasible, (obsolete) pleaful, psychagogic, (rare) psychagogical, (rare) suading, (obsolete, rare) suasorian, (now rare) suasory

   Antonyms: dehortative, dehortatory, dehorting, dissuading, dissuasive, (obsolete) retractive, unconvincing, unpersuasive

   • 2020 December 2, Andy Byford talks to Paul Clifton, “I enjoy really big challenges...”, in Rail, page 55:

     But I'm pretty persuasive, and I've learned how elected officials think. I know how to press their buttons.

Derived terms

• counterpersuasive

Translations

convincing

• Azerbaijani: tutarlı, inandırıcı, qaneedici, sübutlu, əsaslı
• Bulgarian: убедителен (bg) (ubeditelen)
• Catalan: persuasiu
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 有說服力的／有说服力的 (zh) (yǒu shuōfúlì de)

• Czech: přesvědčivý (cs)
• Finnish: suostutteleva, vakuuttava (fi)
• French: persuasif (fr), convaincant (fr)
• Galician: persuasivo (gl), persuasor (gl)
• German: überzeugend (de), Überredungs- (de)
• Greek: πειστικός (el) (peistikós)

  Ancient: πειθός (peithós), πειστικός (peistikós), πιθανός (pithanós)

• Latin: suāsōrius
• Polish: przekonujący, przekonywający
• Portuguese: persuasivo (pt), persuasível, convincente (pt), persuasório
• Romanian: convingător (ro), persuasiv (ro)
• Russian: убеди́тельный (ru) (ubedítelʹnyj)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Roman: persuazivan, uvjerljiv (sh)

• Spanish: persuasivo (es), convincente (es), persuasor (es), persuasorio (es)
• Swedish: övertygande (sv)

Noun

persuasive (plural persuasives)

1. That which persuades; incitement.
   • 1839, George Robert Gleig, Germany, Bohemia, and Hungary: Visited in 1837, volume 1, page 68:

     He smiled a very knowing smile, and setting up a halloo, and shaking his leathern thong, away we went at the rate of seven or eight miles an hour. I had no occasion to go further with my persuasives; the pace was kept up, […]

Further reading

• persuasive at OneLook Dictionary Search
• “persuasive”, in Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster, 1996–present.

French

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /pɛʁ.sɥa.ziv/

Adjective

persuasive

1. feminine singular of persuasif

German

Pronunciation

• Audio

  (file)

Adjective

persuasive

1. inflection of persuasiv:
   1. strong/mixed nominative/accusative feminine singular
   2. strong nominative/accusative plural
   3. weak nominative all-gender singular
   4. weak accusative feminine/neuter singular

Italian

Adjective

persuasive

1. feminine plural of persuasivo