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persuasion

Definition, pronunciation, etymology, and usage for the English word. Free spelling reference powered by Wiktionary.

Letters

10 characters

Language

English

word origin

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Detailed reference entry for the English word "persuasion", 10-letters, with pronunciation in International Phonetic Alphabet notation, etymology traced through Germanic and Romance roots where applicable, common misspelling variants catalogued from Hunspell error dictionaries, and usage frequency ranked against the top 100,000 English words in the Wordfreq corpus. PlainSpell covers English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German spelling with confusable-pair detection that highlights visually and phonetically similar words. This entry for "persuasion" includes synonyms, antonyms, homophones, and cross-language translation pointers sourced from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org extract. Whether you are verifying the correct spelling of "persuasion" for academic writing, checking homophone confusion, or exploring etymological origins, this page provides a citation-backed, free reference that requires no sign-up.

persuasion is aEnglishnoun. It means: The act of persuading, or trying to do so; the addressing of arguments to someone with the intention of changing their mind or convincing them of a certain point of view, course of action etc. Pronounced /pəˈsweɪʒ(ə)n/. Often confused with persuasive and perfusion.

Key facts for persuasion
PropertyValue
Headwordpersuasion
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/pəˈsweɪʒ(ə)n/
Letters10
Frequency rank#18,915
Misspellings tracked15
Confusable pairs3
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency rank visualization

Position of persuasion in English word frequency (lower rank = more common)

Source: Wordfreq corpus

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for persuasion is 10 letters long, classified as anoun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /pəˈsweɪʒ(ə)n/. Corpus data places it at rank #18,915 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it.Wiktionary records 7 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our Hunspell-derived misspelling index lists 15 documented wrong-spelling variants for persuasion, with forms such as "eprsuasion", "perrsuasion", and "persausion". Each variant represents a distinct typo pattern that appears often enough in corpora to be worth flagging, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution.It also participates in 3 confusable-pair relationships, "persuasive", "perfusion", "percussion", where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From French persuasion and its source, Latin persuāsiō, from persuādēre, from suādēre (“to advise, recommend”). Root origin matters for spelling because borrowed morphemes (Greek, Latin, Old French, Old English) carry their source-language orthographic conventions into modern English, which is why historical etymology is often the cleanest predictor of whether a cluster like "-ough", "-eau", or "-tion" will appear. For readers arriving here from a spelling check, the authoritative guidance is: the correct English form is persuasion, spelled P-E-R-S-U-A-S-I-O-N, and any other sequence of those letters, regardless of how natural it feels, is a misspelling in standard orthography.

Definition

  1. 1
    The act of persuading, or trying to do so; the addressing of arguments to someone with the intention of changing their mind or convincing them of a certain point of view, course of action etc.
  2. 2
    An argument or other statement intended to influence one's opinions or beliefs; a way of persuading someone.
  3. 3
    An argument or other statement intended to influence one's opinions or beliefs; a way of persuading someone.
  4. 4
    A strongly held conviction, opinion or belief.
  5. 5
    One's ability or power to influence someone's opinions or feelings; persuasiveness.
  6. 6
    A specified religious adherence, a creed; any school of thought or ideology.
  7. 7
    Another personal, animal or inanimate trait that is not (very) liable to be changed by persuasion, such as sex, gender, ethnicity, origin, profession or nature.

Etymology

From French persuasion and its source, Latin persuāsiō, from persuādēre, from suādēre (“to advise, recommend”).

Antonyms

This word in other languages

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: eprsuasion,perrsuasion,persausion,perssuasion,persuaison,persuasino,persuasionn,persuasoin,persuassion,persuation,persusaion,perusasion,pesruasion,ppersuasion,presuasion

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

Relative frequency of common misspelling types for persuasion

Misspelling Variants of "persuasion"

eprsuasion10perrsuasion11persausion10perssuasion11persuaison10persuasino10persuasionn11persuasoin10
Misspelling Variants of "persuasion"

Frequency rank: #18,915 in English

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "persuasion"?
"persuasion" is spelled P-E-R-S-U-A-S-I-O-N. The IPA pronunciation is /pəˈsweɪʒ(ə)n/.
What does "persuasion" mean?
As a noun, "persuasion" means: The act of persuading, or trying to do so; the addressing of arguments to someone with the intention of changing their mind or convincing them of a certain point of view, course of action etc.
What words are commonly confused with "persuasion"?
"persuasion" is commonly confused with "persuasive", "perfusion", "percussion". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "persuasion"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "persuasion" is /pəˈsweɪʒ(ə)n/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "persuasion"?
From French persuasion and its source, Latin persuāsiō, from persuādēre, from suādēre (“to advise, recommend”). See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Nearby English words

Other entries that begin with the letter P in our English index:

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Data Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Frequency data from Wordfreq. Misspellings derived from Hunspell dictionaries.