whee·dle

(wēd′l, hwēd′l)

v. whee·dled, whee·dling, whee·dles

v.tr.

1. To obtain through the use of flattery or guile: a swindler who wheedled my life savings out of me.

2. To persuade or attempt to persuade by flattery or guile; cajole: "They could marry on the fortune Miss Starling had wheedled her employer into leaving her" (W. Somerset Maugham).

v.intr.

To use flattery or cajolery to achieve one's ends.

[Origin unknown.]

whee′dler n.

whee′dling·ly adv.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Noun

wheedler - someone who tries to persuade by blandishment and coaxing

coaxer

persuader, inducer - someone who tries to persuade or induce or lead on

Translations

wheedler

n → Schmeichler(in) m(f)

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

Mentioned in

References in classic literature

I don't know how you do it, but you are a born wheedler."

View in context

My first bet was when I was about 10 years old when I took a three-penny (old currency) bet to the bookies runner on a horse called Wheedler which won at even money and I rushed up to collect sixpence at a nearby house the next day.

It's easy to catch fruit machine bug

The mascara comes in four colours: Fetish Black, Wheedler Brown, Audacious Blue and Indiscreet Purple and costs PS24.50.

YSL launches latest lashes work of art

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