verb

wheedle

WEED-ul/ˈwiːdl/

To persuade someone through flattery or coaxing.

The son wheedles his mother into lending him the car keys.

A compact two-moment sequence shows an adult son winning his reluctant mother over with ingratiating affection: he sweetly coaxes her while she withholds car keys, then she relents and places them in his waiting hand.

Etymology

Wheedle has meant enticing with soft words or flattery from its earliest recorded use. Its origin is uncertain: proposed connections involve either begging or tail-wagging extended to fawning.

In context

UC Berkeley Events30:00

the envoy arrived in the grass sea to wheedle the Osage and the Caw, offering $800 and a few saddles for a promise of permanent free passage

Jesse Nathan reads for Lunch Poems

More examples

He wheedled an extra cookie out of his grandmother.
You're not wheedling me into doing your chores again.
She praises his cooking whenever she wheedles an invitation to dinner.

Forms

wheedle · wheedles · wheedled · wheedling

wheedler noun — Someone who persuades through flattery or coaxing.

Similar words

coax: Emphasizes gentle encouragement or persistence rather than flattering appeals.
cajole: Similarly uses flattery, often with a stronger suggestion of manipulation.
persuade: Covers convincing by any method, including reasons rather than flattery.