English

Verb

prevail upon

1. (idiomatic) To convince; to persuade.

   Perhaps I can prevail upon him to change his mind.‎

   • 1898, Winston Churchill, chapter 10, in The Celebrity:

     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.