Coax

Part of speech: verb

Pronunciation: /kəʊks/

Definitions

1. To gently persuade an individual by using soothing words or actions while simultaneously skillfully maneuvering an object into the desired location
2. To influence someone subtly by employing soft words and actions in order to navigate or adjust an item delicately
3. To persuade or urge someone gently and patiently to do something ; to skillfully guide or manipulate an object into a particular position or place

Etymology: The verb "coax" started out as slang for making a fool of someone. In 1586 the phrase "to make a coax of" someone meant to treat them as a simpleton, and the noun "coax", spelled "cox" or "cokes" at the time, meant a fool or simpleton. Where that noun came from is unclear; it may be linked to "cock", a word that could mean a male bird or a pert young man. Over the following centuries the sense softened. Someone who was being coaxed was no longer being mocked but being cajoled, wheedled or gently talked into something, and the modern meaning of gently persuading took hold. The spelling "coax" appears in its present form from 1706, so the word we use now is a few centuries younger than its first recorded use.

Synonyms: persuade, entice, seduce, convince, wheedle

Antonyms: dissuade, repel, discourage, force, compel