suasion

English

Etymology

From Middle English suasion, from Latin suāsiō (“counselling, advice, persuasion”).

Pronunciation

• Audio (US):

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Noun

suasion (countable and uncountable, plural suasions)

1. The act of urging or influencing; persuasion. [from 14th c.]
   • 1977, Stephen R. Donaldson, The Illearth War, page 75:

     The high intricate ways of the Keep had a strange power of suasion, an ability to carry conviction.

   • 1982, Jacob Kipp, “Review of The Royal Navy and the Siege of Bilbao by James Cable”, in Military Affairs, volume 46, number 4, page 217:

     James Cable, the author of Gunboat Diplomacy (Chatto & Windus, 1971), has created an excellent case study of naval presence and suasion during the era of appeasement.

   • 2017, Alexander Popov, Neeltje van Horen, Steven Ongena, “Moral suasion and bond buying in the Eurozone Crisis”, in VoxEU, CEPR:

     The term moral suasion refers to an appeal to ‘morality’ or ‘patriotic duty’ to induce behaviour by the persuaded entity that is not necessary profit-maximising for it.

Usage notes

• Persuasion is much more commonly used than suasion.
• Persuasion ordinarily refers to exhortation by means of argumentation or reasoned discourse. Suasion may have this sense, but it is not uncommon for suasion to refer to the exercise of influence by other means.

Synonyms

• suasiveness

Derived terms

• moral suasion
• suasive
• suasively

Related terms

• suave
• persuade
• dissuade

References

• “suasion”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.

Anagrams

• Siouans, sanious