Wheedle

  • 1Wheedle — 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… …

    The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • 2Wheedle — Whee dle, v. i. To flatter; to coax; to cajole. [1913 Webster] …

    The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • 3wheedle — index inveigle Burton s Legal Thesaurus. William C. Burton. 2006 …

    Law dictionary

  • 4wheedle — 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

  • 5wheedle — blandish, cajole, *coax Analogous words: entice, inveigle, *lure, seduce, decoy Contrasted words: bully, browbeat, bulldoze, cow, *intimidate …

    New Dictionary of Synonyms

  • 6wheedle — [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

  • 7wheedle — ► VERB ▪ use endearments or flattery to persuade someone to do something. ORIGIN perhaps from German wedeln cringe, fawn …

    English terms dictionary

  • 8wheedle — [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

  • 9Wheedle — 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

  • 10wheedle — 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