What does dissuaded mean?
Dissuaded is the past tense and past participle of the verb dissuade, meaning to advise or persuade a person against doing something they intend or are inclined to do. Where persuading pushes someone toward a decision, dissuading pulls them away from it, typically through reasoned argument, warning, or appeal. In everyday use it appears most often in the pattern 'dissuade someone from doing something', as in 'she was dissuaded from resigning by her colleagues'. The word belongs chiefly to formal registers — journalism, legal writing, and serious prose — where a lighter alternative such as 'talked out of' would sound casual. Its tone is neutral rather than negative: the person dissuading may be offering prudent counsel or unwelcome interference. The word traces back to Latin dissuadere, formed from dis- ('apart') and suadere ('to urge'), the same root that gives us persuade, so the two verbs are etymological opposites built from identical material.
verbPast tense and past participle of dissuade: to persuade someone not to take a particular course of action.
- To have advised or persuaded someone against a course of action (past tense/past participle of dissuade)
"Her parents dissuaded her from quitting university in her final year."
"The doctor dissuaded him from taking up smoking again after his surgery."
"Despite fierce opposition, no argument could have dissuaded them from their expedition."
Dissuade literally means to 'urge apart' — the same Latin suadere that gives us 'sweet-talking' also powers its opposite, making persuasion and dissuasion two sides of one verbal coin.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of dissuaded
Dissuaded comes from Latin dissuadere, a compound of dis- ('apart, away') and suadere ('to urge, advise'), which itself derives from the Proto-Indo-European root *swād- relating to sweetness — the idea being that persuasion is a form of sweet talk. English borrowed the verb directly from Latin in the early modern period (attested from around the early 16th century), alongside its sibling persuade. Related words sharing this root include persuasion, persuasive, suave, and sweet (a Germanic cognate of the same ancient root).
How dissuaded is actually used
Dissuade is a fairly formal verb, more common in written than spoken English. It is almost always followed by an object and the preposition 'from' plus a gerund or noun (e.g., 'dissuaded them from leaving'). It carries a neutral connotation — the advice given may be wise or merely obstructive, depending on context.
Easily confused with dissuaded
Persuaded means talking someone into doing something, while dissuaded means talking someone out of doing something.