wheedle
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Wheedle — Whee dle, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Wheedled}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Wheedling}.] [Cf. G. wedeln to wag with the tail, as a dog, wedel a fan, tail, brush, OHG. wadal; akin to G. wehen to blow, and E. wind, n.] [1913 Webster] 1. To entice by soft words; to… … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
Wheedle — Whee dle, v. i. To flatter; to coax; to cajole. [1913 Webster] … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
wheedle — index inveigle Burton s Legal Thesaurus. William C. Burton. 2006 … Law dictionary
wheedle — to influence by flattery, 1661, perhaps connected with O.E. wædlian to beg (from wædl poverty ), or borrowed by Eng. soldiers in the 17c. German wars from Ger. wedeln wag the tail, hence fawn, flatter (Cf. ADULATION (Cf. adulation)) … Etymology dictionary
wheedle — blandish, cajole, *coax Analogous words: entice, inveigle, *lure, seduce, decoy Contrasted words: bully, browbeat, bulldoze, cow, *intimidate … New Dictionary of Synonyms
wheedle — [v] talk into banter, blandish, butter up*, cajole, charm, coax, con, court, draw, entice, finagle, flatter, inveigle, kowtow*, lay it on*, oil*, persuade, seduce, snow*, soap*, soften up*, soft soap*, spread it on*, sweeten up*, sweet talk*,… … New thesaurus
wheedle — ► VERB ▪ use endearments or flattery to persuade someone to do something. ORIGIN perhaps from German wedeln cringe, fawn … English terms dictionary
wheedle — [hwēd′ l, wēd′ l] vt., vi. wheedled, wheedling [17th c. cant < ? Ger wedeln, to wag the tail, fan, hence to flatter < wedel, a fan, tail] 1. to influence or persuade (a person) by flattery, soothing words, coaxing, etc. 2. to get… … English World dictionary
Wheedle — The Wheedle was originally the title character of a popular children s book by Seattle author Stephen Cosgrove. The character eventually evolved into a popular mascot generally associated with the city of Seattle. Children s Book Character The… … Wikipedia
wheedle — v. 1) (d; tr.) to wheedle from, out of (to wheedle information from smb.) 2) (d; tr.) to wheedle into (to wheedle smb. into doing smt.) * * * [ wiːdl] out of (to wheedle information from smb.) (d; tr.) to wheedle from (d; tr.) to wheedle into (to … Combinatory dictionary
wheedle — whee|dle [ˈwi:dl] v [T] [Date: 1600 1700; Origin: Perhaps from German wedeln to wag the tail, be willing to do what others want ] to persuade someone to do or give you something, for example by saying nice things to them that you do not mean used … Dictionary of contemporary English
