persuasiveper‧sua‧sive /pəˈsweɪsɪv $ pər-/ ●○○ adjective 
Trevor can be very persuasive.persuasive argument/evidence a persuasive argument against capital punishment—persuasively adverb—persuasiveness noun [uncountable]
EXAMPLES FROM OTHER DICTIONARIES
- persuasive arguments.
- Barratt's argument was persuasive, but the managers still turned down his proposal.
- Diane can be very persuasive.
- He is a very persuasive speaker.
- He made a persuasive case for making the changes.
- Like most politicians, she can be very persuasive when she wants to be.
- We found no persuasive evidence of illegal activity.
- A persuasive argument that democracy can and should be based on active and extensive participation by the citizenry.
- Abandon wait for taxi, hoist bags over shoulder and trudge to site where minivans transport officials and persuasive hangers-on to tournament.
- But investigators found the supporting accounts by Kennedy's friends and colleagues to be specific and persuasive, Pentagon officials said.
- Consider how easy it is to be misled by the persuasive power of apparent proof.
- In fact, the sound is so wonderfully persuasive that it supersedes the logic of the lyrics.
- So persuasive she could consider diverting into management consultancy.
- Their advertising was persuasive and their prices attractive, on the surface, so I fell for it like so many others.
Longman Language Activatorgood at persuading people
· Like most politicians, she can be very persuasive when she wants to be.· He is a very persuasive speaker.
able to express your ideas and opinions in a strong, confident way so that you persuade people to agree with you: · a manager with a forceful personality· He can be arrogant and forceful.· Betty Friedan was a forceful advocate of women's rights.
someone who is pushy annoys people by trying hard to make them do what they want, especially by repeatedly asking them or telling them to do something: · A good salesman is polite, enthusiastic, and not too pushy.· Pushy journalists shouted questions from the crowd.
a smooth-talking person is usually insincere or dishonest although they have a pleasant, confident way of talking which easily persuades people: · a smooth-talking car salesman· A smooth-talking young man was offering to buy her a drink.
good at persuading people by talking to them in a clever, confident way, but usually insincere or dishonest: · I don't trust her. She's too slick.· He's got a bunch of slick lawyers to get him out of paying the $11 million he owes us.
reasons, explanations etc that persuade you to believe something a convincing reason, explanation, or excuse makes you believe that something is true or right: · Jurors thought the defence's arguments were very convincing.· There is convincing evidence that smoking causes heart disease.· Archeologists found convincing proof that the Vikings had landed in North America.
persuasive arguments, proof etc make people believe that something is true or right, by giving them good reasons: · Barratt's argument was persuasive, but the managers still turned down his proposal.· He made a persuasive case for making the changes.· We found no persuasive evidence of illegal activity.
a compelling reason, argument etc is one that is so strong and powerful that it can persuade you that something is true or that something should be done: · Freud's approach to the analysis of dreams is highly compelling.· It is hard to find a more compelling reason to quit smoking than the fact that it affects your children's health.
COLLOCATIONS FROM THE ENTRY a persuasive argument against capital punishmentCOLLOCATIONS FROM THE CORPUSADVERB
a persuasive argument against capital punishment· Insurers have one of Washington's best-organised lobbies, as persuasive as it is litigious.· So powerful in fact that the medium of television itself can be as persuasive as the message it sends.
· But their other argument is possibly more persuasive: it's that farm saving is not an easy option.· The worst is often passionately intrusive, while the best is readily eclipsed by noisier and more persuasive methods of dissemination.· On the contrary, it is becoming politically more savvy and more persuasive all the time.· But neither should it be formally abandoned until a more persuasive case could be made for doing so.· The fearful electorate found Reagan's outrage and can-do optimism more persuasive than the dour Brown's equivocation.· In one case, the claim was no more persuasive than my claim about my Norman ancestors.· Little more persuasive is the argument that under another tsar the regime could have withstood revolutionary pressure indefinitely.· Even more persuasive are small angle neutron scattering studies.
· The most persuasive piece of evidence here is the language used by Papinian in discussing the rescript.· Still, Freedman's tour de force of a final chapter is his most persuasive.· Sisman is at his most persuasive when he examines a question that has long troubled scholars.· This double appeal is turning woman-centred methods into the most persuasive and influential aspect of woman-centred psychology.
· He was so persuasive, and the salary was twice what I had been getting.
· He's a very persuasive man.· But Stan is a very persuasive fellow.· I got nowhere, of course, because in an argument Trevor can be very persuasive.· He was, in any case, very persuasive.· She didn't doubt he could be very persuasive - given time.· Of course, the propounding may be very persuasive and the teacher needs to be wary.
NOUN· But Haig had persuasive arguments to support his inflexible resolve.· He took me to such a vastly expensive restaurant and gave such a persuasive argument that I was fairly undone.· We find that a persuasive argument, should we need any further persuasion beyond the plain wording of the Act.· A persuasive argument that democracy can and should be based on active and extensive participation by the citizenry.· The preservationists, pinning their faith to moral superiority and persuasive argument, were beaten back every time.· There is a persuasive argument that it was not.· This could be a persuasive argument against agency.· He concluded that there were several persuasive arguments in favour of subjecting demolition to control.
· But neither should it be formally abandoned until a more persuasive case could be made for doing so.· But I understand there is also a persuasive case for the wave view.
· The growing burden of paperwork is persuasive evidence of bureaucratic indifference to the economic consequences of red. tape.
· I began to feel the charge of distance, its persuasive power.· It stayed open only because Roy rallied both his persuasive powers and the clout of the Disney name to save it.· Consider how easy it is to be misled by the persuasive power of apparent proof.· The persuasive power of these latter voices is astonishing.· The persuasive power of paternalism supplies the motive for this step to be taken.
WORD FAMILYnounpersuasion ≠ dissuasionpersuasivenessadjectivepersuasiveverbpersuade ≠ dissuadeadverbpersuasively
able to make other people believe something or do what you ask: Trevor can be very persuasive.persuasive argument/evidence a persuasive argument against capital punishment—persuasively adverb—persuasiveness noun [uncountable]