Wheedle
verb
To persuade someone to do something by saying nice things or by being kind.
She wheedled her dad into letting her use the car for the weekend.
Often appears as...
- wheedle someone into
- wheedle someone out of
verb
To persuade someone to do something by saying nice things or by being kind.
She wheedled her dad into letting her use the car for the weekend.
Often appears as...
- wheedle someone into
- wheedle someone out of
Definition 1 of 1
Pro Tip 1/3Intimate Persuasion
Wheedle implies a close relationship where flattery works better than logic.
She wheedled her best friend into sharing her secret recipe.
Pro Tip 2/3Slightly Scheming
Wheedling can suggest a hint of manipulation, though often in a harmless way.
He wheedled a second helping of dessert from his grandma.
Pro Tip 3/3Soft Approach
The technique involves gentle and persistent persuasion, not aggressive demands.
Can you wheedle a compliment out of him about my new haircut?
Pro Tip 1/3Intimate Persuasion
Wheedle implies a close relationship where flattery works better than logic.
She wheedled her best friend into sharing her secret recipe.
Pro Tip 2/3Slightly Scheming
Wheedling can suggest a hint of manipulation, though often in a harmless way.
He wheedled a second helping of dessert from his grandma.
Pro Tip 3/3Soft Approach
The technique involves gentle and persistent persuasion, not aggressive demands.
Can you wheedle a compliment out of him about my new haircut?
Pro Tip 1/3Intimate Persuasion
Wheedle implies a close relationship where flattery works better than logic.
She wheedled her best friend into sharing her secret recipe.
Pro Tip 2/3Slightly Scheming
Wheedling can suggest a hint of manipulation, though often in a harmless way.
He wheedled a second helping of dessert from his grandma.
Pro Tip 3/3Soft Approach
The technique involves gentle and persistent persuasion, not aggressive demands.
Can you wheedle a compliment out of him about my new haircut?
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Video examples
Alison Jackson: A...
I was exploring, at the time, the hyperbole of icons -- and Diana and Marilyn -- and the importance of celebrity in our lives. How they wheedle their way into the collective psyche without us even knowing, and how that should happen.
Video examples
Alison Jackson: A...
I was exploring, at the time, the hyperbole of icons -- and Diana and Marilyn -- and the importance of celebrity in our lives. How they wheedle their way into the collective psyche without us even knowing, and how that should happen.
Example 1 of 1
Quote examples
Sharon Horgan
Irish Actress
I started writing sketches with Dennis Kelly, who I ended up writing 'Pulling' with. We entered a BBC competition and did quite well, then started writing bits for other people's shows. You wheedle your way in, write pilots and eventually you end up writing a sitcom.
Quote examples
Franklin Foer
American Writer
Ukrainians use the term 'political technologist' as a favored synonym for electoral consultant. Trump turned to Manafort for what seemed at first a technical task: Manafort knows how to bullwhip and wheedle delegates at a contested convention.
Quote examples
Walter Murch
American Editor
You can always make a film somehow. You can beg, borrow, steal the equipment, use credit cards, use your friends' goodwill, wheedle your way into this or that situation. The real problem is, how do you get people to see it once it is made?
Quote examples
Twyla Tharp
American Dancer
To survive, you've got to keep wheedling your way. You can't just sit there and fight against odds when it's not going to work. You have to turn a corner, dig a hole, go through a tunnel - and find a way to keep moving.
Quote examples
Hesiod
Greek Poet
Do not let a flattering woman coax and wheedle you and deceive you; she is after your barn.
Quote examples
Sharon Horgan
Irish Actress
I started writing sketches with Dennis Kelly, who I ended up writing 'Pulling' with. We entered a BBC competition and did quite well, then started writing bits for other people's shows. You wheedle your way in, write pilots and eventually you end up writing a sitcom.
Quote examples
Franklin Foer
American Writer
Ukrainians use the term 'political technologist' as a favored synonym for electoral consultant. Trump turned to Manafort for what seemed at first a technical task: Manafort knows how to bullwhip and wheedle delegates at a contested convention.
Quote examples
Walter Murch
American Editor
You can always make a film somehow. You can beg, borrow, steal the equipment, use credit cards, use your friends' goodwill, wheedle your way into this or that situation. The real problem is, how do you get people to see it once it is made?
Quote examples
Twyla Tharp
American Dancer
To survive, you've got to keep wheedling your way. You can't just sit there and fight against odds when it's not going to work. You have to turn a corner, dig a hole, go through a tunnel - and find a way to keep moving.
Quote examples
Hesiod
Greek Poet
Do not let a flattering woman coax and wheedle you and deceive you; she is after your barn.
Example 1 of 5
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