cajole
to convince someone to do something
TRANSLATION
cajole = jemanden zu etwas überreden, jemanden beschwatzen --- GOOGLE INDEX cajole: approximately 1,500,000 Google hits
STATISTICS
IN THE PRESS
U.S. officials quietly CAJOLE European leaders on debt crisis
(Washington Post)
---
For a whole year Viviane Reding, the EU commissioner for justice, has tried to CAJOLE companies to take voluntary measures to promote more women.
(The Economist)
(Washington Post)
---
For a whole year Viviane Reding, the EU commissioner for justice, has tried to CAJOLE companies to take voluntary measures to promote more women.
(The Economist)
Did you
know?
cajole
verb
- to persuade someone to do something they might not want to do, by pleasant talk and (sometimes false) promises
(Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary)
---
The ancient Greece storyteller Aesop was quoted as saying that "persuasion is often more effectual than force." The former slave and great 19th century American orator Frederick Douglas spoke of the power of persuasion on an even greater dimension when he wrote, "If I can persuade, I can move the universe."
There is certainly no arguing that many of the greatest historical achievements involved some level of persuasion - or cajoling. Consider Christopher Columbus convincing Queen Isabella that he could reach the east by sailing west, or John F. Kennedy selling the American public on the idea of sending a man to the moon.
Persuasion can take different forms however and the English language provides us with the corresponding word to describe the various ways we try to bring others to our way of thinking. The Merriam-Webster Dictionary offers an explanation for some of the synonyms and how they differ:
- cajole suggests the deliberate use of flattery to persuade in the face of reluctance or reasonable objections (His friend cajoled him into cheating on the final exam)
- coax implies gentle and persistent words or actions employed to produce a desired effect (He coaxed his cat out of the tree)
- soft-soap refers to using smooth and somewhat insincere talk usually for personal gain (Politicians are always soft-soaping voters)
- blandish implies a more open desire to win a person over by effusive praise and affectionate actions (Union bosses blandished the members with promises of support)
- wheedle suggests more strongly than cajole the use of seductive appeal or artful words in persuading (Swindlers wheedled her life's savings out of her)
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SYNONYMS
blandish, coax, induce, influence, seduce, soft-soap, talk into to, wheedle
--
SMUGGLE OWAD into today's conversation
"Don't let the salesman cajole you into buying a car that you can't afford."
verb
- to persuade someone to do something they might not want to do, by pleasant talk and (sometimes false) promises
(Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary)
---
The ancient Greece storyteller Aesop was quoted as saying that "persuasion is often more effectual than force." The former slave and great 19th century American orator Frederick Douglas spoke of the power of persuasion on an even greater dimension when he wrote, "If I can persuade, I can move the universe."
There is certainly no arguing that many of the greatest historical achievements involved some level of persuasion - or cajoling. Consider Christopher Columbus convincing Queen Isabella that he could reach the east by sailing west, or John F. Kennedy selling the American public on the idea of sending a man to the moon.
Persuasion can take different forms however and the English language provides us with the corresponding word to describe the various ways we try to bring others to our way of thinking. The Merriam-Webster Dictionary offers an explanation for some of the synonyms and how they differ:
- cajole suggests the deliberate use of flattery to persuade in the face of reluctance or reasonable objections (His friend cajoled him into cheating on the final exam)
- coax implies gentle and persistent words or actions employed to produce a desired effect (He coaxed his cat out of the tree)
- soft-soap refers to using smooth and somewhat insincere talk usually for personal gain (Politicians are always soft-soaping voters)
- blandish implies a more open desire to win a person over by effusive praise and affectionate actions (Union bosses blandished the members with promises of support)
- wheedle suggests more strongly than cajole the use of seductive appeal or artful words in persuading (Swindlers wheedled her life's savings out of her)
---
SYNONYMS
blandish, coax, induce, influence, seduce, soft-soap, talk into to, wheedle
--
SMUGGLE OWAD into today's conversation
"Don't let the salesman cajole you into buying a car that you can't afford."
