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

Paris and London say such a force would aim to secure any peace deal by dissuading Russia from attacking Ukraine again. —Arkansas Online, 28 Mar. 2025

Apart from the account-creation snafu, nothing in my testing has dissuaded me from this idea. —PCMAG, 22 Mar. 2025

The Japanese then planned to construct a chain of island fortifications across the Pacific that would dissuade a U.S. counteroffensive and force an early settlement on Japanese terms. —Stephen Biddle, Foreign Affairs, 19 Mar. 2025

That didn’t dissuade the Santa Ana Pueblo, who drummed up their share through a separate state grant. —Ben Goldfarb, Vox, 14 Mar. 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

Rhymes for dissuade

• afraid
• allayed
• arcade
• arrayed
• assayed
• barmaid
• betrayed
• blockade
• bridesmaid
• brigade
• brocade
• buffeted

Kids Definition

dissuade

verb

dis·​suade dis-ˈwād 

dissuaded; dissuading

: to persuade or advise not to do something