coaxes

VERB

persuade

Synonyms

STRONGEST

cajole entice induce tease tempt wheedle

STRONG

allure barter beguile blandish blarney con decoy flatter get hook importune influence inveigle jawbone lure pester plague press soft-soap soothe sweet-talk urge wangle worm

WEAK

argue into arm-twist butter up come on prevail upon rope in talk into work on

Antonyms

STRONGEST

discourage repel repulse turn off

STRONG

disenchant disgust dissuade please

WEAK

allow not care

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Thanks to cultivation techniques, the Huntington coaxes the plants to bloom every two to three years, not four to six like they do in their natural habitat, where they’re endangered.

From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 10, 2026

Allegra Goodman’s family saga coaxes, in Sam Sacks’s words, “excellent, bone-dry humor” out of the skirmishes and long-running battles among members of a loving, fractious clan.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 27, 2026

Within this vulnerability, Wolf coaxes out a complex portrait of an ambitious artist burning to express his eternal creativity at the expense of living as his true self.

From Salon • Dec. 17, 2025

It’s not until Pointer coaxes her to take off her artificial leg, leaving her dependent on him, that her internal alarm bells start to go off.

From Slate • Mar. 29, 2024

Cressida has us sit in the nook in the rocks, where it’s impossible not to be touching, and coaxes us into talking about hunting.

From "Mockingjay" by Suzanne Collins