Make Your Point > Archived Issues > DISSUADE
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DISSUADE:
Say it "dih SWADE."
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connect this word to others:
Today we're checking out the highly useful, highly specific verb dissuade.
It means to urge against, to advise against, to persuade someone not to do something. Like when your coworker gets so mad at a customer that she wants to spit in their food, and you dissuade her.
Dissuade looks like, and pretty much is, the opposite of persuade: they both come from the Latin suadere, meaning "to urge."
Inside the word dissuade, it's pretty easy to see that "suade" means "urge," and "dis-" means "against."
Inside the word persuade, again, "suade" means "urge"--but what about the "per" part? Persuading is urging, so what else is there?
Emphasis. That "per-" part means "strongly, thoroughly, or completely." That's worth knowing, because it helps you see how something perfect is, literally, "completely made, or thoroughly done," and how to perceive something is, literally, to "completely take" it.
But much more often, "per-" doesn't mean "thoroughly." It means "through."
Like in the words below. Could you recall each?
1. To perm__te something is to spread all the way through it.
2. To perc___te is to gradually spread all through somewhere. Your coffee might do this.
3. To do something in a perf____ory way is to do it in a dull, bored, routine way--because you're just trying to get through it.
(To reveal any word with blanks, give it a click.)
definition:
The word "dissuade" has Latin roots that literally mean "to urge against." And that's exactly what it means in English, too.
To dissuade people from doing something is to talk them out of it, or to pressure them to not do it.
grammatical bits:
Part of speech: verb, the transitive kind: "Her doctor dissuaded her from flying in the last month of pregnancy;" "The nasty taste of the product dissuades children from sucking their thumbs."
Other forms: dissuaded, dissuading, dissuasive, dissuasively, dissuasion.
how to use it:
This word is formal and fairly common. Use it to strike a serious tone.
Talk about people, statements, actions, conditions, and situations that dissuade people.
Often, you talk about dissuading people from doing something: "The fake sugar I keep using in my baked goods dissuades my husband from sampling them."
If it's clear what action you're talking about, you can simply talk about dissuading people: "He had more questions to ask, but her huffy tone dissuaded him."
examples:
"Nextdoor, the social networking app for neighborhoods, is adding a new Kindness Reminder feature to try and dissuade neighbors from posting mean comments."
— Jon Porter, The Verge, 18 September 2019
"...Officers offer practical advice about sustainable fishing, which helps reduce poaching and encourages fishermen to participate in returning turtles accidentally caught back to the sea. They dissuade people from using illegal means to fish, such as mosquito nets."
— Amy Yee, New York Times, 15 October 2018
I like how Mark Twain tried to dissuade readers from overanalyzing Huckleberry Finn: "Persons attempting to find a motive in this narrative will be prosecuted; persons attempting to find a moral in it will be banished; persons attempting to find a plot in it will be shot. BY ORDER OF THE AUTHOR."
has this page helped you understand "dissuade"?
study it:
Explain the meaning of "dissuade" without saying "warn" or "discourage."
try it out:
Fill in the blanks: "(Someone) (did something) to dissuade (someone else) from (doing something)."
Example: "They've painted their guest room a vivid, screeching shade of lime green to discourage guests from making it a long weekend."
before you review, play:
Try to spend 20 seconds or more on the game below. Don’t skip straight to the review—first, let your working memory empty out.
This month, our game is "Caption These!"
In each issue this month, caption the images below (A, B, and C) by matching them to the vocabulary words they illustrate (1, 2, and 3). Need a closer look? Give the images a click. And, if you can, explain the exact meaning of each word. I'll share the answers in the following issue. Good luck!
From the previous issue:
Answers:
A: rotund, B: gilded, C: Byzantine.
(To review a word, give it a click.)
Try these today:
1: bastion
2: brindle
3: bouillabaisse
review this word:
A. STOOP.
B. HARDEN.
C. EMBOLDEN.
2. According to Bethany Lacina's research at the University of Rochester, a harsh winter can dissuade _____.
A. skin
B. crops
C. crime
a final word:
I hope you're enjoying Make Your Point. It's made with love.
I'm Liesl Johnson, a reading and writing tutor on a mission to explore, illuminate, and celebrate words.
From my blog:
36 ways to study words.
Why we forget words, & how to remember them.
How to use sophisticated words without being awkward.
To be a sponsor and include your ad in an issue, please contact me at Liesl@HiloTutor.com.
Disclaimer: When I write definitions, I use plain language and stick to the words' common, useful applications. If you're interested in authoritative and multiple definitions of words, I encourage you to check a dictionary. Also, because I'm American, I stick to American English when I share words' meanings, usage, and pronunciations; these elements sometimes vary across world Englishes.
Today we're checking out the highly useful, highly specific verb dissuade.
The word "dissuade" has Latin roots that literally mean "to urge against." And that's exactly what it means in English, too.
Part of speech: verb, the transitive kind: "Her doctor dissuaded her from flying in the last month of pregnancy;" "The nasty taste of the product dissuades children from sucking their thumbs."
This word is formal and fairly common. Use it to strike a serious tone.
"Nextdoor, the social networking app for neighborhoods, is adding a new Kindness Reminder feature to try and dissuade neighbors from posting mean comments."
Explain the meaning of "dissuade" without saying "warn" or "discourage."
Fill in the blanks: "(Someone) (did something) to dissuade (someone else) from (doing something)."
Try to spend 20 seconds or more on the game below. Don’t skip straight to the review—first, let your working memory empty out.
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