Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- intransitive verb To obtain through the use of flattery or guile.
- intransitive verb To persuade or attempt to persuade by flattery or guile; cajole.
- intransitive verb To use flattery or cajolery to achieve one's ends.
from The Century Dictionary.
- To entice, especially by soft words; gain over by coaxing and flattery; cajole; coax; flatter; hence, to hoax; take in.
- To gain or procure by flattery or coaxing.
- To flatter; coax.
- noun One who wheedles; a cajoling or coaxing person.
- noun A piece of cajolery; a flattering or coaxing speech; a hoax.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- intransitive verb To flatter; to coax; to cajole.
- transitive verb To entice by soft words; to cajole; to flatter; to coax.
- transitive verb To grain, or get away, by flattery.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- verb To
cajole orattempt topersuade byflattery . - verb To
obtain something byguile ortrickery .
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- verb influence or urge by gentle urging, caressing, or flattering
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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Ms. LENHART: We heard from teens who said, you know, when I want the yes, I'll go to the phone because my parents can hear my voice and I can kind of wheedle and I can charm them, and that's how I'm going to get what I want.
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Their favorite words are words that can said with a sneer, but they enjoy words that bark, growl, whine, wheedle, and spit with rage too.
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Their favorite words are words that can said with a sneer, but they enjoy words that bark, growl, whine, wheedle, and spit with rage too.
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In both cases, what is going on is a display of pinstriped muscle – an attempt to wheedle, lobby and finally intimidate government from making whatever decisions it feels are necessary in the national rather than sectional interest.
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If not, how did Action Canada wheedle their way in to this otherwise good group of charities?
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In puzzle mode that initially just means activating them slowly enough not to cause collisions, but later levels demand deeper experimentation with order and timing before you wheedle out a viable solution.
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She will connive and she will lie and she will wheedle her way in as far as she can wheedle, further than you can imagine, until — — oh, I don't know — — she has the password to your SL account.
"We think we've climbed so high, Up all the backs we've condemned..."
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A quick phone call to Robert ensured she would be well guarded, and Brystion managed to wheedle our way out of too many questions.
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He, who was sheer bladed steel in the imperious flashing of his will, could swashbuckle and bully like any over-seas roisterer, or wheedle as wickedly winningly as the first woman out of Eden or the last woman of that descent.
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He hopes to wheedle enough support from the national and prefecture governments to show progress rebuilding before leading citizens move away.
mariecarnes commented on the word wheedle
"There's no surer way to make me want to understand than to tell me I won't. I wheedled him, demanding that he tell me." Little Brother - Cory Doctorow
July 3, 2008
yarb commented on the word wheedle
There began a creaky, squeaky, whinny-whining of the wheels as the wagon wheedled along.
- William Steig, Farmer Palmer's Wagon Ride
September 29, 2008
bilby commented on the word wheedle
There's a Wheedle
On the Needle
I know just what
You're thinking
But if you look up
Late at night
You'll se
His red nose blinking.
- Steven Cosgrove, 'Wheedle on the Needle'.
January 21, 2009
yarb commented on the word wheedle
Citation on poising.
July 23, 2009