wheedling en · ADJ
Etymology
From wheedle + -ing.
Meanings
-
Coaxing, aiming to persuade.
Then, in a soft, wheedling voice, "Canst thou not let me in, my little bird? Sure there are other lasses besides thyself who would like to trade with a poor peddler who has travelled all the way from Gruenstadt just to please the pretty ones of Trutz-Drachen."
1888, Howard Pyle, “ch. 9”, in Otto of the Silver Hand:ESTRAGON: That would be too bad, really too bad. [Pause.] Wouldn't it, Didi, be really too bad? [Pause.] When you think of the beauty of the way. [Pause.] And the goodness of the wayfarers. [Pause. Wheedling.] Wouldn't it, Didi?
1954, Samuel Beckett, Waiting for Godot, →ISBN, page 8:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| more wheedling | Degree=Cmp | lexicographic | |
| most wheedling | Degree=Sup | lexicographic |