derail vs persuade

derail

noun
  • An instance of diverting a conversation or debate from its original topic. 

  • Synonym of derailer: A device placed on railway tracks in order to cause a train to derail. 

verb
  • To cause to deviate from a set course or direction. 

  • To cause to come off the tracks. 

  • To come off the tracks. 

  • To deviate from the previous course or direction. 

persuade

verb
  • To successfully convince (someone) to agree to, accept, or do something, usually through reasoning and verbal influence. 

How often have the words derail and persuade occurred in a corpus of books? (source: Google Ngram Viewer )