noun
Meaning 1
A coaxing person.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: archaic
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
Standard Lemma guide
wheedle
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
Sound
Pronunciation
Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.
-
/ˈʍiː.dəl/ without the wine–whine merger
-
/ˈwiː.dəl/ wine–whine merger
-
US: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
-
rhymes with -iːdəl
verb
Meaning 2
To cajole or attempt to persuade by flattery.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: ambitransitive
Examples
- I’d like one of those, too, if you can wheedle him into telling you where he got it.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: butter up, inveigle, sweet-talk, blandander, blandish, cajole, fast-talk, canoodle, carny, coax, collogue, croodle, engle, fleech, honey around, honey up, hum, ingle, soap, soft-sawder, soft-soap, stroke, tweedle, twist, wheedle, whilly, word
Antonyms: none provided
verb
Meaning 3
To obtain by flattery, guile, or trickery.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: transitive
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
verb
Meaning 4
influence or urge by gentle urging, caressing, or flattering
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
Examples
- He palavered her into going along
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: cajole, palaver, blarney, coax, sweet-talk, inveigle
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: persuade
Narrower terms: soft-soap, browbeat, bully, swagger
History
Etymology
Uncertain. Perhaps continuing Middle English wedlen (“to beg, ask for alms”), from Old English wǣdlian (“to be poor, be needy, be in want, beg”), from Proto-Germanic *wēþlōną (“to be in need”). Alternatively , borrowed from German wedeln (“to wag one's tail”), from Middle High German wedelen, a byform of Middle High German wadelen (“to wander, waver, wave, whip, stroke, flutter”), from Old High German wādalōn (“to wander, roam, rove”). In this case, it may be a doublet of waddle, or an independently formed etymological equivalent. The ⟨wh⟩ spelling (reflecting pronunciations with /ʍ/) is apparently unetymological.
Across languages
Translations
46 source translations are retained for this English entry.
- Chinese Mandarin: 誘哄 /诱哄 (yòuhǒng) — cajole
- Czech: přemluvit — cajole
- Czech: přesvědčit — cajole
- Finnish: lirkutella — cajole
- French: amadouer — cajole
- German: überreden — cajole
- German: beschwatzen — cajole
- German: umschmeicheln — cajole
- German: schmeicheln — cajole
- German: herumkriegen — cajole
- Hungarian: hízeleg — cajole
- Latin: lactō — cajole
- Māori: pīnono — cajole
- Romanian: flata — cajole
- Romanian: linguși — cajole
- Russian: подли́зываться (podlízyvatʹsja) — cajole
- Russian: подлиза́ться (podlizátʹsja) — cajole
- Russian: обха́живать (obxáživatʹ) — cajole
- Russian: ублажа́ть (ublažátʹ) — cajole
- Russian: прельща́ть (prelʹščátʹ) — cajole
- Scots: tice — cajole
- Spanish: engatusar — cajole
- Spanish: camelar — cajole
- Ukrainian: підлещуватися (pidleščuvatysja) — cajole
- Ukrainian: ластитися (lastytysja) — cajole
- Welsh: chwidlo — cajole
- Welsh: truthio — cajole
- Welsh: cocsio — cajole
- Czech: vymámit — obtain by guile or trickery
- Czech: vyloudit — obtain by guile or trickery
- German: abschwatzen — obtain by guile or trickery
- German: abschmeicheln — obtain by guile or trickery
- German: abbetteln — obtain by guile or trickery
- German: abheucheln — obtain by guile or trickery
- German: erschmeicheln — obtain by guile or trickery
- German: abschwätzen — obtain by guile or trickery
- German: aus dem Kreuz leiern — obtain by guile or trickery
- German: aus den Rippen leiern — obtain by guile or trickery
- Italian: ottenere con lusinghe — obtain by guile or trickery
- Māori: pīnono — obtain by guile or trickery
- Russian: выма́нивать ле́стью (vymánivatʹ léstʹju) — obtain by guile or trickery
- Russian: вы́манить ле́стью (výmanitʹ léstʹju) — obtain by guile or trickery
- Ukrainian: виманювати лестощами (vymanjuvaty lestoščamy) — obtain by guile or trickery
- Welsh: hudo — obtain by guile or trickery
- Welsh: twyllo — obtain by guile or trickery
- Welsh: hocedu — obtain by guile or trickery