Library / English Dictionary

COAX

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 I. (noun) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

A transmission line for high-frequency signals

Synonyms:

coax; coax cable; coaxial cable

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Hypernyms ("coax" is a kind of...):

cable; line; transmission line (a conductor for transmitting electrical or optical signals or electric power)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "coax"):

ethernet cable (any of several types of coaxial cable used in ethernets)

Derivation:

coax (influence or urge by gentle urging, caressing, or flattering)

 II. (verb) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Influence or urge by gentle urging, caressing, or flattering

Example:

He palavered her into going along

Synonyms:

blarney; cajole; coax; inveigle; palaver; sweet-talk; wheedle

Classified under:

Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing

Hypernyms (to "coax" is one way to...):

persuade (cause somebody to adopt a certain position, belief, or course of action; twist somebody's arm)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "coax"):

soft-soap (persuade someone through flattery)

browbeat; bully; swagger (discourage or frighten with threats or a domineering manner; intimidate)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s somebody into V-ing something

Sentence example:

They coax him into writing the letter

Derivation:

coax (a transmission line for high-frequency signals)

coaxer (someone who tries to persuade by blandishment and coaxing)

coaxing (flattery designed to gain favor)

Credits

 Context examples: 

I had gone up to ask him about you, and he was very offensive; accused me of coaxing you away from the service of the firm, and that sort of thing.

(The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Cells within an injured mouse eye can be coaxed into regenerating neurons and those new neurons appear to integrate themselves into the eye’s circuitry, new research shows.

(Researchers unlock regenerative potential of cells in the mouse retina, National Institutes of Health)

There were grave events afoot, as the sequel showed, and the coaxing of Scott Eccles to Wisteria Lodge had some connection with them.

(His Last Bow, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

I have three very particular friends who have been all dying for him in their turn; and the pains which they, their mothers (very clever women), as well as my dear aunt and myself, have taken to reason, coax, or trick him into marrying, is inconceivable!

(Mansfield Park, by Jane Austen)

Amy being gone, Laurie was her only refuge, and much as she enjoyed his society, she rather dreaded him just then, for he was an incorrigible tease, and she feared he would coax the secret from her.

(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)

He is beginning to put some flesh on his bones again, but he was terribly weakened by the long illness; even now he sometimes starts out of his sleep in a sudden way and awakes all trembling until I can coax him back to his usual placidity.

(Dracula, by Bram Stoker)

The research team wanted to take the genes from Cyanothece, responsible for this day-night mechanism, and put them into another type of cyanobacteria, Synechocystis, to coax this bug into fixing nitrogen from the air, too.

(Bacteria Used to Create Fertilizer Out of Thin Air, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)

She had pretty, coaxing ways, as you might say, and I thought there was no harm in letting her just put her head through the door.

(The Return of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

“And you won't tell me, any more, that we make other people bad,” coaxed Dora; “will you? Because you know it's so dreadfully cross!”

(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)

And so, by dint of alternate coaxing and commanding, he contrived to get them all once more enclosed in their separate dormitories.

(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)