wheedle
pronunciation
How to pronounce wheedle in British English:
UK [ˈwi:dl]
How to pronounce wheedle in American English:
US [ˈhwidl, ˈwidl]
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- Verb:
- influence or urge by gentle urging, caressing, or flattering
Word Origin
- wheedle (v.)
- "to influence by flattery," 1660s, of uncertain origin, perhaps connected with Old English wædlian "to beg," from wædl "poverty" [OED], or borrowed by English soldiers in the 17c. German wars from German wedeln "wag the tail," hence "fawn, flatter" (compare adulation). Related: Wheedled; wheedling.
Example
- 1. Players constantly haggle , wheedle and plead .
- 2. Thank you very much for your time , ms. wheedle .
- 3. The challenge for western firms and governments is how to help african citizens wheedle data out of their governments so as to hold them more to account .
- 4. Don 't let him wheedle money out of you with his pitiful stories . He 's an old soldier at that sort of thing .
- 5. Cash-strapped mr meikle contacted each supplier personally and used his reputation in the industry to wheedle credit lines : " if we had just sent the technicians in vans , we would have been told the deal was cash only . "