How to Use persuade in a Sentence

persuade

verb
  • He persuaded his friend to go back to school.
  • He persuaded himself that he had made the right choice.
  • She couldn't be persuaded to go.
  • They persuaded us that we were wrong.
  • He would not let himself be persuaded into buying the more expensive stereo.
  • I am not easily persuaded.
  • Meet the jam band that just might persuade you to love a jam band.
    — Charlie Warzel, The Atlantic, 22 June 2024
  • One by one, they were persuaded to drop out.
    — Theo Baker, The Atlantic, 24 Apr. 2026
  • What persuaded you to go on the show?
    — Shamira Ibrahim, Vulture, 19 Sep. 2025
  • Now, colleges may have no choice but to persuade.
    — Joshua Rothman, New Yorker, 30 Sep. 2025
  • And the grid, for now, can be persuaded to bend.
    — Mackenzie Sigalos, CNBC, 1 Jan. 2026
  • Then there’s the need to persuade consumers to eat the stuff.
    — Time, 12 Jan. 2023
  • Massood tried to persuade his wife to stay, to get well first.
    — Mirzahussain Sadid, ProPublica, 5 Apr. 2022
  • He later was persuaded that there would be a role for him.
    — ABC News, 21 Feb. 2026
  • Then Sara makes one last attempt to persuade him to stay with her.
    — Keith Phipps, Vulture, 10 Jan. 2025
  • Nobody even feigned an attempt to persuade him to stay in school.
    — Adrienne Lafrance, The Atlantic, 15 Sep. 2025
  • Elphaba tries to persuade them not to, and stay and fight for their home.
    — Jazz Tangcay, Variety, 12 Jan. 2026
  • The goal is not to persuade people who disagree.
    — Christopher Keating, Hartford Courant, 2 June 2026
  • Ross, too, took pride in helping persuade Webb to join the team.
    — Ken Rosenthal, New York Times, 7 Mar. 2026
  • Here are some of the pro-life activists trying to persuade the state to say no.
    — Charles Hilu, National Review, 7 Nov. 2022
  • But in the end, Sorensen wasn’t able to persuade his colleagues.
    — Susannah Bryan, Sun Sentinel, 6 Jan. 2026
  • Art is also used to persuade the public.
    — Sarah D. Wire, USA Today, 29 Mar. 2026
  • Trump might also use the trip to try to persuade the Gulf states to keep oil prices down.
    — Marc Lynch, Foreign Affairs, 12 May 2025
  • Might one be persuaded to walk early?
    — Oliver Kay, New York Times, 10 Mar. 2026
  • His sister has tried a few times to persuade him to move to Peoria.
    — Tess Kenny, Chicago Tribune, 5 Apr. 2026
  • Your warmth persuades when details sparkle today.
    — Tarot.com, Sun Sentinel, 22 June 2026
  • Hochul has less than a year to persuade the state’s voters to make history.
    — Washington Post, 5 Jan. 2022
  • In fact, one might be persuaded to simply admire them rather than put them to use.
    — Paige Reddinger, Robb Report, 23 May 2026
  • Some laughed as their classmates persuaded them.
    — Karissa Waddick, USA Today, 29 May 2026
  • Andrew had what was viewed as a cast-iron lease, but was persuaded to abandon it.
    — Jack Royston, MSNBC Newsweek, 4 Nov. 2025

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'persuade.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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