Wheedle

Wheedle
Wheedle Whee"dle, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Wheedled}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Wheedling}.] [Cf. G. wedeln to wag with the tail, as a dog, wedel a fan, tail, brush, OHG. wadal; akin to G. wehen to blow, and E. wind, n.] [1913 Webster] 1. To entice by soft words; to cajole; to flatter; to coax. [1913 Webster]

The unlucky art of wheedling fools. --Dryden. [1913 Webster]

And wheedle a world that loves him not. --Tennyson. [1913 Webster]

2. To grain, or get away, by flattery. [1913 Webster]

A deed of settlement of the best part of her estate, which I wheedled out of her. --Congreve. [1913 Webster]


The Collaborative International Dictionary of English. 2000.

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  • Wheedle — Whee dle, v. i. To flatter; to coax; to cajole. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • wheedle — index inveigle Burton s Legal Thesaurus. William C. Burton. 2006 …   Law dictionary

  • wheedle — to influence by flattery, 1661, perhaps connected with O.E. wædlian to beg (from wædl poverty ), or borrowed by Eng. soldiers in the 17c. German wars from Ger. wedeln wag the tail, hence fawn, flatter (Cf. ADULATION (Cf. adulation)) …   Etymology dictionary

  • wheedle — blandish, cajole, *coax Analogous words: entice, inveigle, *lure, seduce, decoy Contrasted words: bully, browbeat, bulldoze, cow, *intimidate …   New Dictionary of Synonyms

  • wheedle — [v] talk into banter, blandish, butter up*, cajole, charm, coax, con, court, draw, entice, finagle, flatter, inveigle, kowtow*, lay it on*, oil*, persuade, seduce, snow*, soap*, soften up*, soft soap*, spread it on*, sweeten up*, sweet talk*,… …   New thesaurus

  • wheedle — ► VERB ▪ use endearments or flattery to persuade someone to do something. ORIGIN perhaps from German wedeln cringe, fawn …   English terms dictionary

  • wheedle — [hwēd′ l, wēd′ l] vt., vi. wheedled, wheedling [17th c. cant < ? Ger wedeln, to wag the tail, fan, hence to flatter < wedel, a fan, tail] 1. to influence or persuade (a person) by flattery, soothing words, coaxing, etc. 2. to get… …   English World dictionary

  • Wheedle — The Wheedle was originally the title character of a popular children s book by Seattle author Stephen Cosgrove. The character eventually evolved into a popular mascot generally associated with the city of Seattle. Children s Book Character The… …   Wikipedia

  • wheedle — v. 1) (d; tr.) to wheedle from, out of (to wheedle information from smb.) 2) (d; tr.) to wheedle into (to wheedle smb. into doing smt.) * * * [ wiːdl] out of (to wheedle information from smb.) (d; tr.) to wheedle from (d; tr.) to wheedle into (to …   Combinatory dictionary

  • wheedle — whee|dle [ˈwi:dl] v [T] [Date: 1600 1700; Origin: Perhaps from German wedeln to wag the tail, be willing to do what others want ] to persuade someone to do or give you something, for example by saying nice things to them that you do not mean used …   Dictionary of contemporary English

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