prevail upon

present singular third person prevails upon · participle present prevailing upon · participle past prevailed upon · past prevailed upon · alternative prevail on

1. idiomaticTo convince; to persuade.

   Perhaps I can prevail upon him to change his mind.

   1 more example

   The skipper Mr. Cooke had hired at Far Harbor was a God-fearing man with a luke warm interest in his new billet and employer, and had only been prevailed upon to take charge of the yacht after the offer of an emolument equal to half a year's sea pay of an ensign in the navy.

   1897 December (indicated as 1898), Winston Churchill, chapter X, in The Celebrity: An Episode, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company; London: Macmillan & Co., Ltd., →OCLC

   Synonyms: bring round, win over, bring round, convict, convince, draw, gain over, persuade