ineducation
C1formal, academic, medical, technical
Definition
Meaning
to cause something to happen or to persuade someone to do something
to bring about a state or condition (e.g., sleep, labor, vomiting); to produce by physical or mental processes; to derive by logical reasoning
Linguistics
Semantic Notes
Often implies a causative agent, influence, or catalyst. Used both for physical states (induce labor) and abstract states (induce change). Can carry a neutral or slightly negative connotation when referring to unwanted effects.
Dialectal Variation
British vs American Usage
Differences
Spelling and meaning are identical. Minor differences in collocational frequency in certain technical fields (e.g., legal or medical contexts) but negligible.
Connotations
Identical in both varieties.
Frequency
Slightly more common in academic and formal writing in both varieties. No significant frequency difference between BrE and AmE.
Vocabulary
Collocations
Grammar
Valency Patterns
NP1 __ NP2 (induce a state)NP1 __ NP2 to V (induce someone to do something)Be induced by NPVocabulary
Synonyms
Strong
Neutral
Weak
Vocabulary
Antonyms
Phrases
Idioms & Phrases
- “induce a sense of...”
- “nothing could induce me to...”
- “induce a trance-like state”
Usage
Context Usage
Business
Used to discuss strategies to induce market changes or consumer behavior.
Academic
Common in scientific writing to describe causal relationships (e.g., 'The treatment induced a significant response').
Everyday
Less common in casual conversation; often replaced by 'cause' or 'make happen'. Used for medical contexts (inducing labor).
Technical
Frequent in medical, pharmacological, and engineering fields (e.g., 'induced current', 'drug-induced').
Examples
By Part of Speech
verb
British English
- The doctor decided to induce labour due to health concerns.
- Certain chemicals can induce vomiting if ingested.
- The government hopes the new policy will induce economic growth.
- No amount of money could induce me to testify falsely.
American English
- The medication is used to induce sleep in patients.
- The scandal induced the CEO to resign.
- The study looked at factors that induce stress.
- They used magnets to induce an electrical current in the coil.
adverb
British English
- The substance acts induceingly on the nervous system. (rare/technical)
American English
- The treatment was induceingly effective. (rare/technical)
adjective
British English
- The drug has strong sleep-inducing properties.
- She suffered from a stress-induced illness.
American English
- The doctor explained the labor-inducing procedure.
- It was a chemically-induced reaction.
Examples
By CEFR Level
- The medicine can make you sleep. (Simplified)
- The loud noise caused fear.
- The bad news caused a lot of stress for everyone.
- Doctors sometimes need to start the birth process artificially.
- The new tax incentives are designed to induce investment in renewable energy.
- Certain sounds can induce a state of deep relaxation.
- The researcher's aim was to induce a state of immunological tolerance in the test subjects.
- The philosopher's argument induced a radical shift in contemporary ethical thought.
Learning
Memory Aids
Mnemonic
Think of a DUKE being PERSUADED (in-DUCE-d) to take action. Or: Something IN you is PRODUCED (inDUCEd).
Conceptual Metaphor
CAUSATION IS PERSUASION (He induced the change); STATES ARE CONTAINERS (induce sleep, induce a trance).
Watch out
Common Pitfalls
Translation Traps (for Russian speakers)
- Не переводить как 'индуцировать' во всех контекстах. В разговорной речи 'cause' или 'lead to' более естественны. 'Убедить' = 'persuade' или 'convince', а 'induce' в значении убеждения имеет формальный оттенок.
Common Mistakes
- Confusing 'induce' with 'deduce' (logical conclusion). Incorrect: 'The evidence induced her guilt.' Correct: 'The evidence deduced her guilt.' Using 'induce' in overly casual contexts where 'cause' is better.
Practice
Quiz
In which sentence is the word 'induce' used CORRECTLY?
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
'Induce' is more formal and often implies an external cause or incentive leading to an action or state. 'Persuade' focuses more on successfully convincing someone through argument or appeal. They can overlap, but 'induce' is broader (can apply to things) and more clinical.
It's less common in casual talk. Words like 'cause', 'make', 'lead to', or 'persuade' are more frequent. 'Induce' is typical in formal, medical, academic, or technical contexts (e.g., 'inducing labor', 'stress-induced').
No, it is neutral. It can refer to positive (induce calm, induce growth), negative (induce panic, induce vomiting), or neutral (induce a current) outcomes. The connotation comes from the context.
Link 'in-' with 'inward cause/production' (induce = cause/bring in). Link 'de-' with 'downward/logical conclusion' (deduce = conclude/figure out). You INduce an effect, you DEduce a conclusion.
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