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Definition of "induce" []

  • To lead or move, as to a course of action, by influence or persuasion. See Synonyms at persuade. (verb-transitive)
  • To bring about or stimulate the occurrence of; cause: a drug used to induce labor. (verb-transitive)
  • To infer by inductive reasoning. (verb-transitive)
  • Physics To produce (an electric current or a magnetic charge) by induction. (verb-transitive)
  • Physics To produce (radioactivity, for example) artificially by bombardment of a substance with neutrons, gamma rays, and other particles. (verb-transitive)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Use "induce" in a sentence
  • "Up until that point, however, all I have to go on is the little pieces our host and others have quoted, and what I can induce from the counter-arguments that have been presented."
  • "It would probably not be easy to again induce such decency in the populace – the devastatingly visible defeat in Vietnam was obviously a decisive factor, and we have no such luck with Iraq – but I do miss that aspect of those days."
  • "But does his name induce thirst for a vodka martini?"