Search the Dictionary

The act of persuading; persuasion; as, moral suasion.

The act of dissuading; exhortation against a thing; dehortation. In spite of all the dissuasions of his friends. Boyle.

A false persuasion; wrong notion or opinion. Dr. H. More.

passions, or inclines the will to a determination. For thou hast all the arts of fine persuasion. Otway.

The state of not being persuaded; disbelief; doubt. [R.] Abp. Leighton.

An addition, or a thing added. Fuller. My persuasion that the latter verses of the chapter were an additament of a later age. Coleridge.

The state of being assured; firm persuasion; full confidence or trust; freedom from doubt; certainty. Let us draw with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience. Heb. x. 22.

testimony; partial or full assurance without positive knowledge or absolute certainty; persuasion; conviction; confidence; as, belief of a witness; the belief of our senses. Belief admits of all degrees, from the slightest suspicion to the fullest assurance. Reid.

To have a firm persuasion, esp. of the truths of religion; to have a persuasion approaching to certainty; to exercise belief or faith. Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief. Mark ix. 24. With the heart man believeth unto righteousness. Rom. x. 10.

Mild; soft; gentle; smooth and soothing in manner; suave; as, a bland temper; bland persuasion; a bland sycophant. "Exhilarating vapor bland." Milton.

ht from concealment. -- To bring over. (a) To fetch or bear across. (b) To convert by persuasion or other means; to cause to change sides or an opinion. -- To bring to. (a) To resuscitate; to bring back to consciousness or life, as a fainting person. (b) (Naut.) To check the course of, as of a ship, by dropping the a…

to conquer difficulties, temptatin, etc. By winning words to conquer hearts, And make persuasion do the work of fear. Milton.

Feeling, persuasion, or expectation; esp., inward sense of guilt or innocence. [R.] An honest mind is not in the power of a dishonest: to break its peace there must be some guilt or consciousness. Pope.

To indicate or express a willingness; to yield to guidance, persuasion, or necessity; to give assent or approval; to comply. My poverty, but not my will, consents. Shak. And whispering "I will ne'er consent," -- consented. Byron.

The state of being convinced or convicted; strong persuasion or belief; especially, the state of being convicted of sin, or by one's conscience. To call good evil, and evil good, against the conviction of their own consciences. Swift. And did you presently fall under the power of this conviction Bunyan.…

One skilled in his craft or trade; one of superior cunning. In cunning persuasion his craftsmaster. Holland.

Dissuasion; advice against something. [R.]

To divert by persuasion; to turn from a purpose by reasons or motives; -- with from; as, I could not dissuade him from his purpose. I have tried what is possible to dissuade him. Mad. D' Arblay.

A dissuasive argument or counsel; dissuasion; dehortation. Prynne. -- Dis*sua"sive*ly, adv.

in; to urge, press, or bring to a point or state; as, to drive person by necessity, by persuasion, by force of circumstances, by argument, and the like. " Enough to drive one mad." Tennyson. He, driven to dismount, threatened, if I did not do the like, to do as much for my horse as fortune had done for his. Sir P. Sidn…