wheedle
English · Thesaurus
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wheedle
- /ˈʍiː.dəl/
- /ˈwiː.dəl/
Rhymes with -iːdəl
Where it comes from
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.
verb wheedles · wheedling · wheedled
-
To cajole or attempt to persuade by flattery.
I’d like one of those, too, if you can wheedle him into telling you where he got it.
Similar: butter up, inveigle, sweet-talk, blandander, blandish, cajole, sweeten, fast-talk, canoodle, carny, coax, collogue
- To obtain by flattery, guile, or trickery. If the worſt come to the worſt,—I'll turn my Wife to Graſs—I already have a deed of Settlement of the beſt part of her Eſtate; which I wheadl'd out of her; [...]
noun wheedles
- A coaxing person.
Translations
Every language
verb cajole
| Español | engatusar, camelar |
|---|---|
| 中文 | 誘哄 /诱哄 yòuhǒng |
| Français | amadouer |
| Deutsch | überreden, beschwatzen, umschmeicheln, schmeicheln, herumkriegen |
| Română | flata, linguși |
| Русский | подли́зываться podlízyvatʹsja, подлиза́ться podlizátʹsja, обха́живать obxáživatʹ, ублажа́ть ublažátʹ, прельща́ть prelʹščátʹ |
verb obtain by guile or trickery
| Deutsch | abschwatzen, abschmeicheln, abbetteln, abheucheln, erschmeicheln, abschwätzen |
|---|---|
| Italiano | ottenere con lusinghe |
| Русский | выма́нивать ле́стью vymánivatʹ léstʹju, вы́манить ле́стью výmanitʹ léstʹju |
Talk about this word "wheedle." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/wheedle. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. wheedle. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/wheedle "wheedle." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/wheedle.Cite this
@misc{wheedle_2026,
title = {wheedle},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/wheedle},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
