Wheedle \Whee"dle\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Wheedled; p. pr. & vb.
n. Wheedling.] [Cf. G. wedeln to wag with the tail, as a
dog, wedel a fan, tail, brush, OHG. wadal; akin to G. wehen
to blow, and E. wind, n.]
[1913 Webster]
1. To entice by soft words; to cajole; to flatter; to coax.
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The unlucky art of wheedling fools. --Dryden.
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And wheedle a world that loves him not. --Tennyson.
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2. To grain, or get away, by flattery.
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A deed of settlement of the best part of her estate,
which I wheedled out of her. --Congreve.
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The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
Wheedle \Whee"dle\, v. i.
To flatter; to coax; to cajole.
[1913 Webster]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
wheedle
v : influence or urge by gentle urging, caressing, or
flattering; "He palavered her into going along" [syn: cajole,
palaver, blarney, coax, sweet-talk, inveigle]
WordNet (r) 2.0
50 Moby Thesaurus words for "wheedle":
adulate, advocate, apply pressure, banter, beset, besiege,
beslobber, beslubber, blandish, blarney, bug, buttonhole, cajole,
call on, call upon, coax, compliment, con, conceit, dun,
exert pressure, exhort, fawn upon, flatter, high-pressure,
importune, insist, insist upon, jawbone, lobby, make fair weather,
nag, nag at, oil the tongue, palaver, pester, plague, plead with,
ply, praise, press, pressure, push, recommend, slobber over,
soft-soap, sweet-talk, tease, urge, work on
Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0
blarney, cajole, coax, inveigle, palaver, sweet-talk
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