dissuade

verb

dis·​suade di-ˈswād 

dissuaded; dissuading

transitive verb

1

a

: to advise (a person) against something

… dissuading us from base thoughts, low ends, ignoble gains …

—A. T. Quiller-Couch

b

archaic : to advise against (an action)

2

: to turn from something by persuasion

unable to dissuade him from going

dissuader noun

Synonyms

• deter
• discourage
• inhibit

Examples of dissuade in a Sentence

Our warnings did not dissuade them.

tried to dissuade her from her intention to drop out of college

Recent Examples on the Web

The foster moms scattered the worms out on the airfield, whenever the ibises completed a flight, to dissuade them from flying away again. —Nick Paumgarten, The New Yorker, 10 Feb. 2025

Days before the Philadelphia Eagles take on the Kansas City Chiefs in the Super Bowl, Philadelphia’s mayor sought to dissuade celebrating fans from climbing light poles or onto other equipment. —Phil Helsel, NBC News, 7 Feb. 2025

In the case of the allies, the US used diplomatic pressure to dissuade them from actually building a bomb. —Joshua Keating, Vox, 15 Jan. 2025

If the message isn’t sent, the ability to dissuade that type of over-the-top action becomes minimized. —Maury Brown, Forbes, 10 Jan. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Middle French or Latin; Middle French dissuader, from Latin dissuadēre, from dis- + suadēre to urge — more at sweet

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Kids Definition

dissuade

verb

dis·​suade dis-ˈwād 

dissuaded; dissuading

: to persuade or advise not to do something