cajole

verb

ca·jole kə-ˈjōl How to pronounce cajole (audio)

cajoled; cajoling

transitive verb

: to persuade with flattery or gentle urging especially in the face of reluctance : coax

had to cajole them into going

: to obtain from someone by gentle persuasion

cajoled money from his parents

: to deceive with soothing words or false promises

cajoled himself with thoughts of escape

Robertson Davies

cajolement

kə-ˈjōl-mənt How to pronounce cajole (audio)

noun

cajoler noun

cajolery

kə-ˈjō-lə-rē How to pronounce cajole (audio)

noun

Did you know?

Cajole comes from a French verb, cajoler, which has the same meaning as the English word. You might not think to associate cajole with cage, but some etymologists theorize that cajoler is connected to not one but two words for "cage." One of them is the Anglo-French word cage, from which we borrowed our own cage. It comes from Latin cavea, meaning "cage." The other is the Anglo-French word for "birdcage," which is gaiole. It's an ancestor of our word jail, and it derives from Late Latin caveola, which means "little cage." Anglo-French speakers had a related verb, gaioler, which meant "to chatter like a jay in a cage." It's possible that cajoler is a combination of gaioler and cage.

Example Sentences

cajoled her into doing his laundry for him

Recent Examples on the Web One feels, in the strategy, the desire not just to find new markets but to create them, to gently cajole almost-REI customers into shoppers walking through the door.

Amanda Loudin, Outside Online, 16 Aug. 2022 Park operators can direct traffic using the app by notifying visitors where the shortest lines are and offering food and merchandise promotions to cajole them to other areas.

Robbie Whelan, WSJ, 27 Aug. 2022 Global warming is likely to hit very dangerous levels, and US efforts to cajole other countries to decarbonize faster will be stymied by insufficient action at home.

Jeffrey Sachs, CNN, 19 Aug. 2022 Not long ago, Manchin was the target of intense lobbying by a President who hoped to flatter and cajole him into coöperation.

Evan Osnos, The New Yorker, 21 July 2022 The two men, the committee showed, were intimately involved in efforts to cajole state officials to throw the election to Mr. Trump and in pressuring Vice President Mike Pence to single-handedly grant Mr. Trump a victory in the Electoral College.

New York Times, 23 June 2022 Once again, public health advocates had to organize and pressure and cajole the administration to follow the science.

Dana Singiser, STAT, 8 June 2022 Developers have tried to cajole him into selling with eye-popping offers.

Lila Seidman, Los Angeles Times, 12 July 2022 President Trump called him personally to cajole him to, among other things, have his chamber de-certify election results showing Biden won.

James Pindell, BostonGlobe.com, 21 June 2022 See More

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from French cajoler "to give much attention to, make a fuss over, flatter, persuade with flattery," going back to Middle French cajoller "to flatter out of self-interest," perhaps the same verb as Middle French cageoller "to vocalize, sing (of a jay or other bird)," expressive formation of uncertain origin

Note: Middle French cageoller was explained by Wartburg, et al., Französisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, as a permutation, under the influence of cage cage entry 1, of gaioler "to chatter, cackle (of birds)," a derivative of Picard gaiole "birdcage," corresponding to Old French geole, jaole "cage, prison" (see jail entry 1). According to Dubois-Mitterand-Dauzat, Dictionaire étymologique et historique du français (Larousse, 1993, continuing the etymology from earlier editons of Dauzat), the meaning "to flatter" is due to association of cageoller with enjôler "to captivate by flattery" (Old French enjaoiler "to imprison"). Alternatively, the two formations ("to sing, vocalize" and "to flatter") have been regarded as of independent origin; the first may either be an onomatopoeic outgrowth of cacarder "to honk (of a goose)," or a rearrangement of *jacoler, based on jacques, a dialectal name for a jay; the second is conjecturally a merger of enjôler and caresser "to stroke, caress entry 1" (thus E. Gamillscheg, Etymologisches Wörterbuch der französischen Sprache, 2. Auflage, Winter, 1969).

First Known Use

1630, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

单词	cajoles
释义	cajole verb ca·jole kə-ˈjōl cajoled; cajoling transitive verb 1 a : to persuade with flattery or gentle urging especially in the face of reluctance : coax had to cajole them into going b : to obtain from someone by gentle persuasion cajoled money from his parents 2 : to deceive with soothing words or false promises cajoled himself with thoughts of escape Robertson Davies cajolement kə-ˈjōl-mənt noun cajoler noun cajolery kə-ˈjō-lə-rē noun Did you know? Cajole comes from a French verb, cajoler, which has the same meaning as the English word. You might not think to associate cajole with cage, but some etymologists theorize that cajoler is connected to not one but two words for "cage." One of them is the Anglo-French word cage, from which we borrowed our own cage. It comes from Latin cavea, meaning "cage." The other is the Anglo-French word for "birdcage," which is gaiole. It's an ancestor of our word jail, and it derives from Late Latin caveola, which means "little cage." Anglo-French speakers had a related verb, gaioler, which meant "to chatter like a jay in a cage." It's possible that cajoler is a combination of gaioler and cage. Synonyms blandish blarney coax palaver soft-soap sweet-talk wheedle See all Synonyms & Antonyms Example Sentences cajoled her into doing his laundry for him Recent Examples on the Web One feels, in the strategy, the desire not just to find new markets but to create them, to gently cajole almost-REI customers into shoppers walking through the door. Amanda Loudin, Outside Online, 16 Aug. 2022 Park operators can direct traffic using the app by notifying visitors where the shortest lines are and offering food and merchandise promotions to cajole them to other areas. Robbie Whelan, WSJ, 27 Aug. 2022 Global warming is likely to hit very dangerous levels, and US efforts to cajole other countries to decarbonize faster will be stymied by insufficient action at home. Jeffrey Sachs, CNN, 19 Aug. 2022 Not long ago, Manchin was the target of intense lobbying by a President who hoped to flatter and cajole him into coöperation. Evan Osnos, The New Yorker, 21 July 2022 The two men, the committee showed, were intimately involved in efforts to cajole state officials to throw the election to Mr. Trump and in pressuring Vice President Mike Pence to single-handedly grant Mr. Trump a victory in the Electoral College. New York Times, 23 June 2022 Once again, public health advocates had to organize and pressure and cajole the administration to follow the science. Dana Singiser, STAT, 8 June 2022 Developers have tried to cajole him into selling with eye-popping offers. Lila Seidman, Los Angeles Times, 12 July 2022 President Trump called him personally to cajole him to, among other things, have his chamber de-certify election results showing Biden won. James Pindell, BostonGlobe.com, 21 June 2022 See More Word History Etymology borrowed from French cajoler "to give much attention to, make a fuss over, flatter, persuade with flattery," going back to Middle French cajoller "to flatter out of self-interest," perhaps the same verb as Middle French cageoller "to vocalize, sing (of a jay or other bird)," expressive formation of uncertain origin Note: Middle French cageoller was explained by Wartburg, et al., Französisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, as a permutation, under the influence of cage cage entry 1, of gaioler "to chatter, cackle (of birds)," a derivative of Picard gaiole "birdcage," corresponding to Old French geole, jaole "cage, prison" (see jail entry 1). According to Dubois-Mitterand-Dauzat, Dictionaire étymologique et historique du français (Larousse, 1993, continuing the etymology from earlier editons of Dauzat), the meaning "to flatter" is due to association of cageoller with enjôler "to captivate by flattery" (Old French enjaoiler "to imprison"). Alternatively, the two formations ("to sing, vocalize" and "to flatter") have been regarded as of independent origin; the first may either be an onomatopoeic outgrowth of cacarder "to honk (of a goose)," or a rearrangement of jacoler, based on jacques,* a dialectal name for a jay; the second is conjecturally a merger of enjôler and caresser "to stroke, caress entry 1" (thus E. Gamillscheg, Etymologisches Wörterbuch der französischen Sprache, 2. Auflage, Winter, 1969). First Known Use 1630, in the meaning defined at sense 1a Kids Definition cajole verb ca·jole kə-ˈjōl cajoled; cajoling : to coax or persuade especially by flattery or false promises She cajoled me into accompanying her. cajoles verb present tense third-person singular of cajole as in coaxes to get (someone) to do something by gentle urging, special attention, or flattery cajoled her into doing his laundry for him Synonyms & Similar Words Relevance coaxes wheedles seduces woos entices lures urges sweet-talks begs palavers beseeches tempts importunes blandishes massages flatters wangles wiles blarneys overpraises juggles charms finagles soft-soaps butters up adulates beguiles cozens Antonyms & Near Antonyms harasses teases nags pesters intimidates cows bugs bullies requires compels coerces obliges demands forces browbeats makes constrains bulldozes See More
随便看	Lythrales Lythrum lythrums lytic lytically lyttae lyttas lyttelton Lyttelton Lytton lyu lyx- lyxo- LZ lá lá de he lá ga ländler ländlers läns lère lèse-majesté lé Léger léopoldville

cajole

verb

Did you know?

Synonyms

Example Sentences

Word History

Kids Definition

verb

verb