coax1
/kəʊks
/verb [with object]
1Persuade (someone) gradually or gently to do something: the trainees were coaxed into doing boring work [with direct speech]: ‘Come on now,’ I coaxed...
- This year I was coaxed into starting my holiday baking early.
- He was coaxed into a reading and soon found himself studying with an acting coach, having his long hair cut to marine length for the part.
- After the fighting ended, he hid in the jungle for two years before he was coaxed into surrendering.
Synonyms
persuade, wheedle, cajole, talk into something, get round, prevail on, beguile, flatter, seduce, lure, entice, tempt, inveigle, woo, manoeuvre
informal sweet-talk, soft-soap, butter up, twist someone's arm
archaic blandish
1.1 (coax something from/out of) Obtain something from (someone) by gradual or gentle persuasion: we coaxed our fare money out of my father...
- Many of his memories of his homeland are of sitting in traffic jams or waiting in lineups that ate up time he would have preferred to spend coaxing notes from his guitar.
- He is adept at coaxing performances from actors with little or no experience.
- The charities are brutally businesslike in coaxing dollars from the wallets of the super-rich.
1.2 [with object and adverbial] Arrange (something) carefully into a particular shape or position: her lovely hair had been coaxed into ringlets...
- Use a metal pastry scraper to coax the dough into shape, and a minimal sprinkling of flour, as necessary.
- When my turn arrives I slowly, carefully coax the boat round until the wind is directly behind it.
- Carefully, and ever so gently, Tristan coaxed my weight upwards to more of a sitting position.
Derivatives
coaxer
/ noun ...- He had a massive drive with a built-in slice and on the greens he was a soft coaxer whose putts were positive.
- The women vendors and coaxers support each other, and we feel we are recognized and accepted by the community.
- The brass instrument has long been seen as a vehicle for many flashy players as well as subtle coaxers of tone.
coaxingly
/ adverb ...- ‘Come on now,’ she said coaxingly when her daughter continued to remain silent.
- Mistress smiled kindly and coaxingly asked me to come over to her.
- She took his hand coaxingly and he flinched away.
Origin
Late 16th century: from obsolete cokes 'simpleton', of unknown origin. The original sense was 'fondle', hence 'persuade by caresses or flattery', the underlying sense being 'make a simpleton of'.
Rhymes
coax2
/ˈkəʊaks/informal
noun [mass noun]
Coaxial cable.After all, you can't lay fiber, buy cable modems and pay for cable TV with surplus coax....
- Another good antenna that's been popular around here for over 20 years is the ‘J-pole’ made from a piece of old TV antenna twin lead and a piece of coax.
- Today, a bad picture isn't a problem with the rabbit ears or a loose bit of coax: it means that the decompression of a digital video stream has gone all wonky.
adjective
Coaxial: coax connectors...
- In areas where cable modem service is available, the cable company can sculpt that down to the single coax line.
- Although both devices may have coax connections, once you see the image quality between them, you'll see why you should go with S-Video.
- Be it cable or satellite, just plug the coax cable into the coaxial cable input, and you have access for up to 125 channels.