per ‧ sua ‧ sion /pəˈsweɪʒ ə n $ pər-/ BrE AmE noun
[ Word Family: noun : ↑ persuasion ≠ ↑ dissuasion , ↑ persuasiveness ; verb : ↑ persuade ≠ ↑ dissuade ; adverb : ↑ persuasively ; adjective : ↑ persuasive ]
1 . [uncountable] the act of persuading someone to do something:
After a little gentle persuasion, Debbie agreed to let us in.
It had taken a great deal of persuasion to get him to accept.
She used all her powers of persuasion (=skill at persuading people) to convince Tilly that it was the right thing to do.
2 . [countable] formal a particular type of belief, especially a political or religious one
political/religious persuasion
We need people with talent, whatever their political persuasions.
politicians of all persuasions
3 . of the ... persuasion formal of a particular type – often used humorously:
an ancient bed of the iron persuasion