coax

1 of 2

verb

ˈkōks

coaxed; coaxing; coaxes

transitive verb

: to influence or gently urge by caressing or flattering : wheedle

coaxed him into going

: to draw, gain, or persuade by means of gentle urging or flattery

unable to coax an answer out of him

coaxing consumers to buy new cars

: to manipulate with great perseverance and usually with considerable effort toward a desired state or activity

coax a fire to burn

is optimistic that stem cells can be coaxed into growing into replacement tissue for failing organs

obsolete : fondle, pet

coax

2 of 2

noun

co·ax ˈkō-ˌaks How to pronounce coax (audio)

: coaxial cable

Did you know?

In the days of yore, if you made a "cokes" of someone, you made a fool of them. Cokes—a now-obsolete word for "fool"—is believed to be the source of the verb coax, which was first used in the 16th century (with the spelling cokes) to mean "to make a fool of." Soon, the verb also took on the kinder meaning of "to make a pet of." As might be expected, the act of "cokesing" was sometimes done for personal gain. By the 17th century, the word was being used in today's senses that refer to influencing or persuading people by kind acts or words. By the 19th century, the spelling cokes had fallen out of use, along with the meanings "to make a fool of" and "to make a pet of."

Example Sentences

Verb It took almost an hour to coax the cat down from the tree. She tried to coax a raise from her boss. He was unable to coax an answer out of her. He coaxed the fire to burn by blowing on it. The plant is difficult to coax into bloom.

Recent Examples on the Web

Verb

Isolation, along with cobwebs on the golf bag and lounge chair, can be the price a leader pays for trying to coax workers back to the office.

Callum Borchers, WSJ, 18 Aug. 2022 One senator mused that the former Treasury Secretary—who helped coax Manchin back to the bargaining table, with reassurances about correcting inflation—should be put on a Forever stamp.

Jonathan Blitzer, The New Yorker, 5 Aug. 2022 Dylan's foster owner, caring for the dog on behalf of Jericho's Wish Animal Rescue, tried to coax Dylan back to the pipe's entrance but couldn't get the canine to budge.

Bellamy Richardson, PEOPLE.com, 25 July 2022 Zingman gently applied pressure to resolve the tension and coax the bones back into place.

Washington Post, 27 Dec. 2021 Hybrid working, a mixture of both remote and in-office working, is quickly becoming popular as a means of providing more flexibility to people who have been working remotely, and to coax people back into the office where needed.

Charles Towers-clark, Forbes, 28 Oct. 2021 One explanation may be that wage gains still aren’t strong enough to coax some people back to work — the Bureau of Labor Statistics said that hourly earnings rose by only about 0.6% for all civilian workers.

Michael Hiltzik, Los Angeles Times, 12 Oct. 2021 Walker then battled Doval for 10 pitches to coax the Diamondbacks’ third walk of the inning, loading the bases.

Nick Piecoro, The Arizona Republic, 6 July 2022 For Mallinckrodt, McKinsey consultants walked factory floors and monitored production data, recommending how the company might coax greater yields from the same base of raw materials and speed up manufacturing lines.

New York Times, 29 June 2022

Noun

What this suggests, Pascual-Torner said, is that DNA that’s normally in storage is brought out during the transformation, and genes that coax cells to reset go into overdrive.

Veronique Greenwood, BostonGlobe.com, 6 Sep. 2022 This means existing household coax installations, which generally make use of only a single cable running to each connected room, won't be of much use.

John Herrman, Popular Mechanics, 1 Apr. 2021 The goal of cloud seeding is to increase the number of particles in the storm and coax snow to fall in the mountains.

Zak Podmore, The Salt Lake Tribune, 28 Mar. 2021 His job is to relay information to the public, not threaten doom, or coax or trick us into doing things.

David Harsanyi, National Review, 22 Feb. 2021 Start with your internet modem, the device that most likely has a coax cable connecting it to your wall.

Frank Bajak, USA TODAY, 20 Mar. 2020 The Internet service provider terminated their coax in a small closet off the entry hall.

Jim Salter, Ars Technica, 8 Jan. 2020 Connect the coax that will enter the house to the bottom. Connect a 10-gauge or thicker copper wire to the bottom of the grounding block.

Ron Hurtibise, sun-sentinel.com, 2 Aug. 2019 From the outdoor Yagi, a leg of coax cabling needs to be routed indoors and fed to the signal booster, which then has an output port which connects to an indoor panel antenna via another coax run.

Jim Salter, Ars Technica, 1 Aug. 2019 See More

coax

verb

as in to cajole

to get (someone) to do something by gentle urging, special attention, or flattery trying to coax their father into taking them on a ski trip, the teens mentioned what a great skier he is

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

cajole
lure
entice
seduce
wheedle
woo
blandish
urge
beg
sweet-talk
tempt
blarney
palaver
massage
wangle
flatter
wile
beseech
butter up
charm
juggle
importune
finagle
overpraise
soft-soap
adulate
cozen
beguile

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

tease
harass
intimidate
bug
coerce
cow
make
pester
require
compel
force
nag
bully
browbeat
constrain
oblige
demand
bulldoze

Synonym Chooser

Some common synonyms of coax are blandish, cajole, soft-soap, and wheedle. While all these words mean "to influence or persuade by pleasing words or actions," coax implies gentle and persistent words or actions employed to produce a desired effect.

coaxed the cat out of the tree

The meanings of blandish and coax largely overlap; however, blandish implies a more open desire to win a person over by effusive praise and affectionate actions.

legislators blandished with promises of support

In some situations, the words cajole and coax are roughly equivalent. However, cajole suggests the deliberate use of flattery to persuade in the face of reluctance or reasonable objections.

cajoled him into cheating on the final exam

Although the words soft-soap and coax have much in common, soft-soap refers to using smooth and somewhat insincere talk usually for personal gain.

politicians soft-soaping eligible voters

The words wheedle and coax are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, wheedle suggests more strongly than cajole the use of seductive appeal or artful words in persuading.

hucksters wheedling her life's savings out of her

单词	coax
释义	coax 1 of 2 verb ˈkōks coaxed; coaxing; coaxes transitive verb 1 : to influence or gently urge by caressing or flattering : wheedle coaxed him into going 2 : to draw, gain, or persuade by means of gentle urging or flattery unable to coax an answer out of him coaxing consumers to buy new cars 3 : to manipulate with great perseverance and usually with considerable effort toward a desired state or activity coax a fire to burn is optimistic that stem cells can be coaxed into growing into replacement tissue for failing organs 4 obsolete : fondle, pet coax 2 of 2 noun co·ax ˈkō-ˌaks : coaxial cable Did you know? In the days of yore, if you made a "cokes" of someone, you made a fool of them. Cokes—a now-obsolete word for "fool"—is believed to be the source of the verb coax, which was first used in the 16th century (with the spelling cokes) to mean "to make a fool of." Soon, the verb also took on the kinder meaning of "to make a pet of." As might be expected, the act of "cokesing" was sometimes done for personal gain. By the 17th century, the word was being used in today's senses that refer to influencing or persuading people by kind acts or words. By the 19th century, the spelling cokes had fallen out of use, along with the meanings "to make a fool of" and "to make a pet of." Synonyms Verb blandish blarney cajole palaver soft-soap sweet-talk wheedle See all Synonyms & Antonyms Example Sentences Verb It took almost an hour to coax the cat down from the tree. She tried to coax a raise from her boss. He was unable to coax an answer out of her. He coaxed the fire to burn by blowing on it. The plant is difficult to coax into bloom. Recent Examples on the Web Verb Isolation, along with cobwebs on the golf bag and lounge chair, can be the price a leader pays for trying to coax workers back to the office. Callum Borchers, WSJ, 18 Aug. 2022 One senator mused that the former Treasury Secretary—who helped coax Manchin back to the bargaining table, with reassurances about correcting inflation—should be put on a Forever stamp. Jonathan Blitzer, The New Yorker, 5 Aug. 2022 Dylan's foster owner, caring for the dog on behalf of Jericho's Wish Animal Rescue, tried to coax Dylan back to the pipe's entrance but couldn't get the canine to budge. Bellamy Richardson, PEOPLE.com, 25 July 2022 Zingman gently applied pressure to resolve the tension and coax the bones back into place. Washington Post, 27 Dec. 2021 Hybrid working, a mixture of both remote and in-office working, is quickly becoming popular as a means of providing more flexibility to people who have been working remotely, and to coax people back into the office where needed. Charles Towers-clark, Forbes, 28 Oct. 2021 One explanation may be that wage gains still aren’t strong enough to coax some people back to work — the Bureau of Labor Statistics said that hourly earnings rose by only about 0.6% for all civilian workers. Michael Hiltzik, Los Angeles Times, 12 Oct. 2021 Walker then battled Doval for 10 pitches to coax the Diamondbacks’ third walk of the inning, loading the bases. Nick Piecoro, The Arizona Republic, 6 July 2022 For Mallinckrodt, McKinsey consultants walked factory floors and monitored production data, recommending how the company might coax greater yields from the same base of raw materials and speed up manufacturing lines. New York Times, 29 June 2022 Noun What this suggests, Pascual-Torner said, is that DNA that’s normally in storage is brought out during the transformation, and genes that coax cells to reset go into overdrive. Veronique Greenwood, BostonGlobe.com, 6 Sep. 2022 This means existing household coax installations, which generally make use of only a single cable running to each connected room, won't be of much use. John Herrman, Popular Mechanics, 1 Apr. 2021 The goal of cloud seeding is to increase the number of particles in the storm and coax snow to fall in the mountains. Zak Podmore, The Salt Lake Tribune, 28 Mar. 2021 His job is to relay information to the public, not threaten doom, or coax or trick us into doing things. David Harsanyi, National Review, 22 Feb. 2021 Start with your internet modem, the device that most likely has a coax cable connecting it to your wall. Frank Bajak, USA TODAY, 20 Mar. 2020 The Internet service provider terminated their coax in a small closet off the entry hall. Jim Salter, Ars Technica, 8 Jan. 2020 Connect the coax that will enter the house to the bottom. Connect a 10-gauge or thicker copper wire to the bottom of the grounding block. Ron Hurtibise, sun-sentinel.com, 2 Aug. 2019 From the outdoor Yagi, a leg of coax cabling needs to be routed indoors and fed to the signal booster, which then has an output port which connects to an indoor panel antenna via another coax run. Jim Salter, Ars Technica, 1 Aug. 2019 See More Word History Etymology Verb earlier cokes, from cokes simpleton First Known Use Verb 1581, in the meaning defined at sense 4 Noun 1945, in the meaning defined above Kids Definition coax verb ˈkōks coaxed; coaxing 1 : to influence by gentle urging, special attention, or flattering She coaxed her kitty out of the tree. 2 : to get or win by means of gentle urging or flattery He coaxed a raise from the boss. coax verb as in to cajole to get (someone) to do something by gentle urging, special attention, or flattery trying to coax their father into taking them on a ski trip, the teens mentioned what a great skier he is Synonyms & Similar Words Relevance cajole lure entice seduce wheedle woo blandish urge beg sweet-talk tempt blarney palaver massage wangle flatter wile beseech butter up charm juggle importune finagle overpraise soft-soap adulate cozen beguile Antonyms & Near Antonyms tease harass intimidate bug coerce cow make pester require compel force nag bully browbeat constrain oblige demand bulldoze See More Synonym Chooser Some common synonyms of coax are blandish, cajole, soft-soap, and wheedle. While all these words mean "to influence or persuade by pleasing words or actions," coax implies gentle and persistent words or actions employed to produce a desired effect. coaxed the cat out of the tree The meanings of blandish and coax largely overlap; however, blandish implies a more open desire to win a person over by effusive praise and affectionate actions. legislators blandished with promises of support In some situations, the words cajole and coax are roughly equivalent. However, cajole suggests the deliberate use of flattery to persuade in the face of reluctance or reasonable objections. cajoled him into cheating on the final exam Although the words soft-soap and coax have much in common, soft-soap refers to using smooth and somewhat insincere talk usually for personal gain. politicians soft-soaping eligible voters The words wheedle and coax are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, wheedle suggests more strongly than cajole the use of seductive appeal or artful words in persuading. hucksters wheedling her life's savings out of her
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coax

verb

noun

Did you know?

Synonyms

Example Sentences

Word History

Kids Definition

verb

verb

Synonym Chooser