Persuasion \Per*sua"sion\, n. [L. persuasio; Cf. F. persuasion.]
1. The act of persuading; the act of influencing the mind by
arguments or reasons offered, or by anything that moves
the mind or passions, or inclines the will to a
determination.
[1913 Webster]
For thou hast all the arts of fine persuasion.
--Otway.
[1913 Webster]
2. The state of being persuaded or convinced; settled opinion
or conviction, which has been induced.
[1913 Webster]
If the general persuasion of all men does so account
it. --Hooker.
[1913 Webster]
My firm persuasion is, at least sometimes,
That Heaven will weigh man's virtues and his crimes
With nice attention. --Cowper.
[1913 Webster]
3. A creed or belief; a sect or party adhering to a certain
creed or system of opinions; as, of the same persuasion;
all persuasions are agreed.
[1913 Webster]
Of whatever state or persuasion, religious or
political. --Jefferson.
[1913 Webster]
4. The power or quality of persuading; persuasiveness.
[1913 Webster]
Is 't possible that my deserts to you
Can lack persuasion? --Shak.
[1913 Webster]
5. That which persuades; a persuasive. [R.]
[1913 Webster]
Syn: See Conviction.
[1913 Webster]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
persuasion
n 1: the act of persuading (or attempting to persuade);
communication intended to induce belief or action [syn:
suasion]
2: a personal belief or judgment that is not founded on proof
or certainty; "my opinion differs from yours"; "what are
your thoughts on Haiti?" [syn: opinion, sentiment, view,
thought]
3: inducement to act by argument or reasoning or entreaty [ant:
dissuasion]
WordNet (r) 2.0
176 Moby Thesaurus words for "persuasion":
adherents, affiliation, allurement, ascendancy, authority, belief,
bias, blandishment, blood, body, branch, brand, breed, cajolement,
cajolery, cast, character, charisma, charm, church, clan, class,
clout, coaxing, color, communion, community, confession,
connection, conning, consequence, control, conversion, conviction,
credit, creed, cult, denomination, description, designation,
disciples, division, dominance, domination, effect, eminence,
enchantment, engagement, enlistment, esteem, evangelization,
exhortation, exhorting, eye, faction, faith, favor, feather,
feeling, fellowship, fixed opinion, followers, force, form, genre,
genus, good feeling, grain, group, hold, hortation, ilk,
implicit belief, importance, incidental power, inducement,
inducing, influence, influencing, influentiality, insinuation, ism,
jawboning, kidney, kin, kind, label, leadership, leverage, line,
lobbying, lot, magnetism, make, manner, mark, mastery,
mature judgment, mind, mold, moment, nature, number, offshoot,
opinion, order, organization, partiality, party, personality,
persuading, phylum, potency, power, preaching, preachment,
predilection, predominance, prejudice, preponderance,
prepossession, pressure, prestige, proselytism, proselytization,
purchase, race, reign, religion, religious order, repute, rule,
sales talk, salesmanship, say, schism, school, school of thought,
sect, sectarism, segment, selling, sentiment, settled judgment,
shape, snow job, society, soft soap, solicitation, sort, species,
stamp, staunch belief, steadfast faith, strain, stripe, style,
suasion, subtle influence, suggestion, supremacy, sway, sweet talk,
the like of, the likes of, tribe, type, unshaken confidence,
upper hand, variety, version, view, weight, wheedling, whip hand,
working on
Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0
PERSUASION. The act of influencing by expostulation or request. While the
persuasion is confined within those limits which leave the mind free, it may
be used to induce another to make his will, or even to make it in his own
favor; but if such persuasion should so far operate on the mind of the
testator, that he would be deprived of a perfectly free will, it would
vitiate the instrument. 3 Serg. & Rawle, 269; 5 Serg. & Rawle, 207; 13 Serg.
& Rawle, 323.
Bouvier's Law Dictionary, Revised 6th Ed (1856)
|
|
|