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# coaxing

noun (coaxing – uncountable); adjective (coaxing); verb form (of «coax»: coax, coaxes, coaxed, coaxing)

«coaxing» in the English dictionary: everyday — its meanings, how the lessons use it, and examples, each with its tree on Mova.

## Everyday

1. Gently persuading someone to do something by being kind, patient and pleasant. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/coaxing/#m1)
2. (adjective) Gentle and persuading: «a coaxing voice». [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/coaxing/#m2)
3. Getting something to work or move by careful, gentle handling: «coaxing a fire to light». [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/coaxing/#m3)

### In the lessons

In stories, characters coax shy animals out of hiding, or coax a friend to come along; the Rat coaxes the homesick Mole and the Badger coaxes Toad to give up cars. In everyday life: coaxing a cat out from under the bed with treats. Phrases: «with a bit of coaxing», «coax someone into/out of».

### Examples

- After a lot of coaxing, the kitten came out from under the sofa. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/coaxing/#x1)
- She spoke in a coaxing voice. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/coaxing/#x2)
- The Rat was coaxing the Mole to tell his trouble. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/coaxing/#x3)
- It took some coaxing to get my brother into the cold sea. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/coaxing/#x4)
- Dad was coaxing the old car to start. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/coaxing/#x5)
- With gentle coaxing, the shy pupil read her poem aloud. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/coaxing/#x6)
- The Mouse did not need much coaxing, for he was very anxious to see the world and everything in it. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/coaxing/#x7)

### Note

Said «KOH-ksing». «Coax» rhymes with «hoax». Coaxing is gentle; forcing or bullying is not coaxing.

## On Mova

- [Trees and pragmatics of «coaxing» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/coaxing/): every meaning and example parsed by Mova, with its dependency tree and frames.
- [«coaxing» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/coaxing.html) on Mova free.