as in to coax
to get (someone) to do something by gentle urging, special attention, or flattery
she can sweet-talk her besotted boyfriend into just about anything
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in butter
excessive praise
enough of this sweet talk—just give me your honest opinion of my performance
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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 sweet-talk
Miami Herald Archives, Miami Herald, 20 May 2024
The seasoned ones know all the shortcuts to get around the course and are particularly adept at sweet-talking patrons to move over just a smidge.
—Sam Farmer, Los Angeles Times, 11 Apr. 2024
John Benson, cleveland, 12 Sep. 2023
Cuban boleros, street-corner sweet talk, Mexican songs, Frank Sinatra ballads, and Frankie Laine melodramas . . .
—Matthew Gavin Frank, Harper's Magazine, 4 May 2023
See all Example Sentences for sweet-talk 
Verb
Vale even managed to sweet-talk a helicopter business into a free flight over the Glades.
—Miami Herald Archives, Miami Herald, 20 May 2024
The seasoned ones know all the shortcuts to get around the course and are particularly adept at sweet-talking patrons to move over just a smidge.
—Sam Farmer, Los Angeles Times, 11 Apr. 2024
Noun
During the ride to the police station, the driver was trying to sweet talk the officer into not arresting him and instead letting his wife pick him up.
—John Benson, cleveland, 12 Sep. 2023
Cuban boleros, street-corner sweet talk, Mexican songs, Frank Sinatra ballads, and Frankie Laine melodramas . . .
—Matthew Gavin Frank, Harper's Magazine, 4 May 2023
See all Example Sentences for sweet-talk
Recent Examples of Synonyms for sweet-talk
Verb
-
Francona retired a few years ago, but was coaxed out of retirement by the Reds.David Faris, Newsweek, 3 Nov. 2024
-
Cybercriminals relentlessly launch phishing attacks at employees, trying to coax or trick them into providing their personal information and credentials.Ilia Sotnikov, Forbes, 30 Oct. 2024
Noun
-
Embracing the method dressing approach, Hilton Rothschild wore a bespoke skirt suit by Rebecca Vallance in trending butter yellow to the horse racing event.Maggie Clancy, WWD, 5 Nov. 2024
-
To reduce saturated fat, avoid full-fat dairy and butter when cooking your oatmeal.Karina Tolentino, Verywell Health, 4 Nov. 2024
Noun
-
People should wash any skin that comes into contact with the slurry with water and soft soap, before using a hand cream to avoid dryness and cracking.Lauren Penington, The Denver Post, 2 Sep. 2024
-
Most of the questions aimed at the ironic American director of Raging Bull, Taxi Driver and Goodfellas were less softballs than soft soap, with reporters as interested in Scorsese’s favorite food — his mother’s lasagna recipe — as the movies in his peerless filmography.Scott Roxborough, The Hollywood Reporter, 20 Feb. 2024
Noun
-
Ukrainian officials offered their own praise of Trump, but face an uncertain future given his views on further military support for Kyiv's fight with Russia.Elizabeth Robinson, NBC News, 7 Nov. 2024
-
Rather than try to sing the praises of the Biden administration’s policy response to the pandemic, the strategy for Harris has been to speak plainly about costs and expenses and stress the importance of further reducing them.Tobias Burns, The Hill, 5 Nov. 2024
Noun
-
And if one of the two people who could be president is both vindictive and susceptible to flattery — and in charge of appointing people who decide how to spend billions in federal contracts — why not butter him up a little bit?Gaby Del Valle, The Verge, 31 Oct. 2024
-
White columnists wrote him open letters, processing their own feelings about race, alternating between flattery and belligerence.Parul Sehgal, The New Yorker, 14 Oct. 2024
Noun
-
Boucher was on the hunt for Abba-Zaba, a chewy taffy bar with a real peanut butter center.Jessica Ma, Sacramento Bee, 20 July 2024
-
The texture ranges in consistency from an oil-like substance to a syrupy sap or even a sticky taffy.Jalen Williams, Detroit Free Press, 9 July 2024
Noun
-
Her first publication was a chapbook of poems, 1983’s The Women Who Hate Me. 1988’s Trash, a book of essays, brought her critical acclaim.Bethy Squires, Vulture, 10 Nov. 2024
-
But its critical acclaim was capped due to the music industry’s rigid conceptions of race and genre.Andrew R. Chow, TIME, 4 Nov. 2024
Thesaurus Entries Near sweet-talk
Cite this Entry
“Sweet-talk.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/sweet-talk. Accessed 23 Nov. 2024.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share