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wheedle

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whee⋅dle

  [hweed-l, weed-l] verb, -dled, -dling.
Use wheedle in a Sentence
–verb (used with object)
1. to endeavor to influence (a person) by smooth, flattering, or beguiling words or acts: We wheedled him incessantly, but he would not consent.
2. to persuade (a person) by such words or acts: She wheedled him into going with her.
3. to obtain (something) by artful persuasions: I wheedled a new car out of my father.
–verb (used without object)
4. to use beguiling or artful persuasions: I always wheedle if I really need something.
Origin:
1655–65; orig. uncert.

Related forms:
wheedler, noun
whee⋅dling⋅ly, adverb

Synonyms:
1. flatter, cajole. 2, 3. coax, beguile, inveigle.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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whee·dle   (hwēd'l, wēd'l)   
v.   whee·dled, whee·dling, whee·dles

v.   tr.

  1. To persuade or attempt to persuade by flattery or guile; cajole.

  2. To obtain through the use of flattery or guile: a swindler who wheedled my life savings out of me.

v.   intr.
To use flattery or cajolery to achieve one's ends.

[Origin unknown.]
whee'dler n., whee'dling·ly adv.
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

wheedle 
"to influence by flattery," 1661, perhaps connected with O.E. wædlian "to beg" (from wædl "poverty"), or borrowed by Eng. soldiers in the 17c. German wars from Ger. wedeln "wag the tail," hence "fawn, flatter" (cf. adulation).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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