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

Other similarities include lax regulations that fail to dissuade wildland builders. —David Marston, The Denver Post, 14 Jan. 2025

If Channel 14 is Netanyahu’s Fox News, Magal is its Tucker Carlson—an object of such devotion that his fans have to be dissuaded from charging the stage to take selfies with him during commercial breaks. —Ruth Margalit, The New Yorker, 13 Jan. 2025

Regardless of whether the protests meaningfully impact Amazon's operations, the public attention could dissuade some customers from ordering out of fear of a possible delay, experts said. —Max Zahn, ABC News, 23 Dec. 2024

DiVincenzo’s body language did little to dissuade the rumor-mongers. —Jon Krawczynski, The Athletic, 30 Dec. 2024

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