cajoles
Wheedles with charm
To cajole is to coax or persuade someone through flattery, gentle persistence, or sweet talk.
The word suggests working around resistance rather than confronting it directly: She cajoled him into lending her the car.
Cajoling implies a light touch—more wheedling than demanding, more charm than force.
Persuading through flattery
- persuadingInducing belief or action
- coaxingPersuading through gentle persistence
- urgingStrongly encouraging action
- sweet-talkingPersuading through flattery
smooth-talking · beguiling · inveigling · enticing · encouraging · prodding · prompting · pleading
Expressions of admiration
- adulationExtravagant, servile praise
- fawningExcessive insincere flattery
- sweet-talkFlatter to persuade
- blandishmentsFlattering speech to persuade
soft-soap · blarney · ingratiation · sycophancy · stroking · praise · charming · smarm
Arousing desire or interest
- luringAttracting through enticement
- baitingDeliberately trying to provoke
- enticingPowerfully attractive
- alluringPowerfully appealing
seducing · tantalizing · beckoning · wooing · drawing · hooking · sweetening · dangling
Crafty and calculating
- maneuveringSkillful directional control
- finaglingObtaining through cunning
- wanglingObtaining through cunning
- wilesDeceptive stratagems
cunning · craftiness · machinations · calculating · exploiting · playing · working · angling
wheedling
Persuading through flattery
- persuadingInducing belief or action
- coaxingPersuading through gentle persistence
- urgingStrongly encouraging action
sweet-talking · smooth-talking · beguiling · inveigling · enticing · encouraging · prodding · prompting · pleading · beseeching
compliments
Expressions of admiration
- adulationExtravagant, servile praise
- fawningExcessive insincere flattery
- sweet-talkFlatter to persuade
blandishments · soft-soap · blarney · ingratiation · sycophancy · stroking · praise · charming · smarm · flannel
tempting
Arousing desire or interest
- luringAttracting through enticement
- baitingDeliberately trying to provoke
- enticingPowerfully attractive
alluring · seducing · tantalizing · beckoning · wooing · drawing · hooking · sweetening · dangling · inducing
scheming
Crafty and calculating
- maneuveringSkillful directional control
- finaglingObtaining through cunning
- wanglingObtaining through cunning
wiles · cunning · craftiness · machinations · calculating · exploiting · playing · working · angling · engineering