persuasion
- 01 B2 Upper Intermediate
the act of trying to make someone believe or do something by giving them good reasons.
the process of convincing someone to adopt a particular belief or course of action through argument or reasoning.
Simple“It took a lot of persuasion to get him to come to the party.”
In context“The marketing team relied on subtle psychological persuasion rather than aggressive sales tactics to build long-term brand loyalty.”
UsageOften used with the verb 'take' or 'require'.
SynonymsAntonymsdissuasiondiscouragement - 02 C1 Advanced
a particular set of religious or political beliefs that a person follows.
a specific religious adherence, creed, or school of thought.
Simple“People of all religious persuasions were invited to the community meeting.”
In context“The conference brought together scholars of various political persuasions to debate the future of international trade agreements.”
UsageCommonly used in the plural or in the phrase 'of a [adjective] persuasion'.
- 03 C2 Proficiency
a funny way to talk about a type of person, such as their job or gender.
a humorous or euphemistic way to refer to a person's gender, profession, or nature.
Simple“I don't usually get along with people of the artistic persuasion.”
In context“The club was mostly frequented by gentlemen of the sporting persuasion who spent their weekends at the races.”
Teacher's tipThis sense is often used to add a playful or slightly old-fashioned tone to a description of someone's identity.
From French persuasion and its source, Latin persuāsiō, from persuādēre, from suādēre (“to advise, recommend”).
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.