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Persuasion

 - 5 dictionary results
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per⋅sua⋅sion

  [per-swey-zhuhn]
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–noun
1. the act of persuading or seeking to persuade.
2. the power of persuading; persuasive force.
3. the state or fact of being persuaded or convinced.
4. a deep conviction or belief.
5. a form or system of belief, esp. religious belief: the Quaker persuasion.
6. a sect, group, or faction holding or advocating a particular belief, idea, ideology, etc.: Several of the people present are of the socialist persuasion.
7. Facetious. kind or sort.
Origin:
1350–1400; late ME < L persuāsiōn- (s. of persuāsiō; see per-, suasion ); r. ME persuacioun < MF persuacion < L, as above

Synonyms:
1. See advice.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Persuasion Study Guide
Complete Study Guide: Summary, Analysis, Essays, Criticism: $7.95
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per·sua·sion   (pər-swā'zhən)   
n.  

  1. The act of persuading or the state of being persuaded: "The persuasion of a democracy to big changes is at best a slow process" (Harold J. Laski).

  2. The ability or power to persuade: "Three foremost aids to persuasion which occur to me are humility, concentration, and gusto" (Marianne Moore).

  3. A strongly held opinion; a conviction. See Synonyms at opinion.

    1. A body of religious beliefs; a religion: worshipers of various persuasions.

    2. A party, faction, or group holding to a particular set of ideas or beliefs.

  5. Informal Kind; sort: "the place where ... rockers of any gender or persuasion can become megastars" (Christopher John Farley).


[Middle English, from Old French, from Latin persuāsiō, persuāsiōn-, from persuāsus, past participle of persuādēre, to persuade; see persuade.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

persuasion 
1382, "action of inducing (someone) to believe (something)," from O.Fr. persuasion (14c.), from L. persuasionem (nom. persuasio) "a convincing, persuading," from persuadere "persuade," from per- "thoroughly, strongly" + suadere "to urge, persuade," from PIE *swad-. Meaning "religious belief, creed" is from 1623. The verb persuade is first recorded 1513.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Medical Dictionary

Main Entry: per·sua·sion
Pronunciation: p&r-'swA-zh&n
Function: noun
: a method of treating neuroses consisting essentially in rationalconversation and reeducation
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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Encyclopedia

persuasion

the process by which a person's attitudes or behaviour are, without duress, influenced by communications from other people. One's attitudes and behaviour are also affected by other factors (for example, verbal threats, physical coercion, one's physiological states). Not all communication is intended to be persuasive; other purposes include informing or entertaining. Persuasion often involves manipulating people, and for this reason many find the exercise distasteful. Others might argue that, without some degree of social control and mutual accommodation such as that obtained through persuasion, the human community becomes disordered. In this way, persuasion gains moral acceptability when the alternatives are considered. To paraphrase Winston Churchill's evaluation of democracy as a form of government, persuasion is the worst method of social control-except for all the others

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Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
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