as in convincing
the act of reasoning or pleading with someone to accept a belief or course of action a defense lawyer uses not only legal arguments but also moral suasion to appeal to a jury's sense of right and wrong

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Examples Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of suasion Read More: Believing Myths About Aging Makes Growing Old Worse Initially, their belief in moral suasion worked. Rebecca Brannon / Made By History, TIME, 3 July 2024 In this brilliant new look at the destruction of slavery during the American Civil War, Oakes reveals how the U.S. abolitionist movement relied not only on high-minded moral suasion but also on the small-bore legalistic strategy of the Republican Party. James Oakes, Foreign Affairs, 27 Dec. 2012 Beyond moral suasion is a clear policy against any form of discrimination that happens to be taking place. Alyson Shontell, Fortune, 31 Aug. 2023 As psychologist Asa Hilliard later explained, among those strategies were moral suasion, litigation, grassroots organizing, civil disobedience, economic boycotts, the solicitation of corporate sponsors and the use of television. Bev-Freda Jackson, The Conversation, 25 Aug. 2023 See all Example Sentences for suasion 
Recent Examples of Synonyms for suasion
Noun
  • Carter’s trust in his own ingenuity, persistence, and persuasion, as well as his trust in God, were brought into question.
    Lawrence Wright, The New Yorker, 29 Dec. 2024
  • Matching interests is closely related to pathos, the appeal to the emotions of the audience, and is one of the three essential elements of persuasion set down by Aristotle over two millennia ago.
    Jerry Weissman, Forbes, 16 Dec. 2024
Noun
  • After the Eagles tied the score with a touchdown and two-point conversion — both on Jalen Hurts runs — with 5:15 left in the fourth quarter, Mahomes engineered a game-winning field goal drive.
    Peter Sblendorio, New York Daily News, 27 Jan. 2025
  • The Eagles had a 87.1% conversion rate with the Tush Push for three years with Jason Kelce at center, per Next Gen Stats.
    Sam McDowell, Kansas City Star, 27 Jan. 2025
Noun
  • She was charged with indecent assault, corruption of minors, inducement of minors with liquor and giving false reports to law enforcement.
    Saleen Martin, USA TODAY, 17 Jan. 2025
  • The filing also details various financial activities, including a public offering in February 2024 that raised net proceeds of $5.4 million and a warrant inducement that provided net cash proceeds of $3.5 million.
    Quartz Bot, Quartz, 8 Nov. 2024

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Cite this Entry

“Suasion.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/suasion. Accessed 30 Jan. 2025.

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