persuasive
/pə(ɹ)ˈsweɪsɪv/adjective, noun
persuasive is spelled P-E-R-S-U-A-S-I-V-E: 10 letters and 3 syllables. It appears 2.6 times per million words in written English, the 16,896th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, persuasive means “Able to persuade; convincing” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in persuasive?
| Letters | 10: P-E-R-S-U-A-S-I-V-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 2.6 times per million words; the 16,896th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is persuasive?
Persuasive appears 2.6 times per million words in written English, the 16,896th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce persuasive?
- /pə(ɹ)ˈsweɪsɪv/
Persuasive has 3 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-persuasive.wav, En-us-persuasive.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of persuasive
- more persuasive comparative
- most persuasive superlative
- persuasives plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does persuasive mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Able to persuade; convincing.
noun
- 1
That which persuades; incitement.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Persuasive in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense convincing:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | persuasif, convaincant |
| German | überzeugend, Überredungs- |
| Portuguese | persuasivo, persuasível, convincente, persuasório |
| Spanish | persuasivo, convincente, persuasor, persuasorio, suasorio |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does persuasive come from?
From Middle French persuasif, from Medieval Latin persuāsīvus, from Latin past participle stem of persuādēre + -īvus.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).