wheedle
Plural: wheedles
Verb
Verb Forms: wheedled, wheedling, wheedles
- To influence or persuade someone by using flattery or gentle entreaties.
- influence or urge by gentle urging, caressing, or flattering
- To cajole or attempt to persuade by flattery.
- To obtain by flattery, guile, or trickery.
Noun
- A coaxing person.
Examples
- He tried to wheedle his opponent into accepting a less advantageous trade of tiles.
- I’d like one of those, too, if you can wheedle him into telling you where he got it.
Origin / Etymology
Uncertain. Perhaps continuing Middle English wedlen (“to beg, ask for alms”), from Old English wǣdlian (“to be poor, be needy, be in want, beg”), from Proto-Germanic *wēþlōną (“to be in need”).
Alternatively , borrowed from German wedeln (“to wag one's tail”), from Middle High German wedelen, a byform of Middle High German wadelen (“to wander, waver, wave, whip, stroke, flutter”), from Old High German wādalōn (“to wander, roam, rove”). In this case, it may be a doublet of waddle, or an independently formed etymological equivalent.
The ⟨wh⟩ spelling (reflecting pronunciations with /ʍ/) is apparently unetymological.
Scrabble Score: 14
wheedle: valid Scrabble (US) TWL Wordwheedle: valid Scrabble Word in Merriam-Webster MW Dictionary
wheedle: valid Scrabble Word in International Collins CSW Dictionary