convince

American  

[kuhn-vins] / kənˈvɪns /

verb (used with object)

convinces, present (3rd person singular) convinced, past participle, past convincing present participle

1. to move by argument or evidence to belief, agreement, consent, or a course of action.

   Ample evidence convinced the jury of his guilt.

   A test drive will convince you that this car handles well.

   Synonyms:

   satisfy

2. to persuade; cajole.

   We finally convinced them to have dinner with us.

3. Obsolete. to prove or find guilty.

4. Obsolete. to overcome; vanquish.

---

convince British  

/ kənˈvɪns /

verb

1. (may take a clause as object) to make (someone) agree, understand, or realize the truth or validity of something; persuade

2. to persuade (someone) to do something

3. obsolete

   1. to overcome

   2. to prove guilty

---

Usage

Convince, an often stated rule says, may be followed only by that or of, never by to: We convinced him that he should enter (not convinced him to enter ) the contest. He was convinced of the wisdom of entering. In examples to support the rule, convince is often contrasted with persuade, which may take to, of, or that followed by the appropriate construction: We persuaded him to seek counseling (or of his need for counseling or that he should seek counseling ). The history of usage does not support the rule. Convince (someone) to has been in use since the 16th century and, despite objections by some, occurs freely today in all varieties of speech and writing and is fully standard: Members of the cabinet are trying to convince the prime minister not to resign.

The use of convince to talk about persuading someone to do something is considered by many British speakers to be wrong or unacceptable

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• convincement
  noun
• convincer
  noun
• convincibility
  noun
• preconvince
  verb (used with object)
• reconvince
  verb (used with object)
• convincible
  adjective
• unconvincible
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Participles

• convincing
  present
• convinced
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• convince
  simple
• convinces
  simple
• have convinced
  perfect
• has convinced
  perfect
• am convincing
  progressive
• are convincing
  progressive
• is convincing
  progressive
• have been convincing
  perfect progressive
• has been convincing
  perfect progressive

Past

• convinced
  simple
• had convinced
  perfect
• was convincing
  progressive
• were convincing
  progressive
• had been convincing
  perfect progressive

Future

• will convince
  simple
• will have convinced
  perfect
• will be convincing
  progressive
• will have been convincing
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of convince

First recorded in 1520–30; from Latin convincere “to prove (something) false or true, (somebody) right or wrong,” equivalent to con- con- + vincere “to overcome”; see victor

Explanation

"How again was it that you convinced me to do this?" the boy said to his friend before they jumped out of the plane on their first sky dive. Convince means to talk someone into something, or win someone over. A person convinces by making an argument—you can convince your parents to let you go to the movies by promising you'll do all your homework the next day. A thing can convince as well. The cash prize convinced me to enter the contest. The threat of failure convinced the kids to study.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

convince convinces convinced convincing

Their scrappy determination helped convince family members, neighbors and eventually the rest of the country that the Constitution’s guarantees of liberty and equality applied to same-sex couples.

From Slate ● Aug. 1, 2026

Senior partners were shocked and tried to convince him to stay, people familiar with the discussions said.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 31, 2026

Newcastle fans would be hoping Jaissle could also help convince 30-year-old Toney to return to the Premier League after two years playing in Saudi Arabia.

From BBC ● Jul. 30, 2026

Charles D. Ellis has spent six decades trying to convince Wall Street of an uncomfortable truth: Most professional money managers cannot beat the market, and picking the ones who can is largely a losing game.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 29, 2026

If I could convince him to come along, the monstrous boy-ogre would be my one-soldier army!

From "Klawde: Evil Alien Warlord Cat" by Johnny Marciano and Emily Chenoweth

Paid-for false advertising which convinces people to part with cash has become a familiar part of everyday life online.

From BBC ● Jul. 10, 2026

The sort of meal that costs very little but somehow convinces you otherwise.

From Salon ● Jun. 16, 2026

He convinces his childhood best friend to let him co-host his son’s wedding alongside a “younger and flashier” wedding MC — played by Gold —who had already been hired.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 7, 2026

He gives me a virtual hug and convinces me to convince my husband that the pancakes in the freezer should be saved for my return and a new batch prepared for today’s breakfast.

From Slate ● May 10, 2026

“What’s better,” asks Dylan, “hoping Magnus convinces enough people to feel sorry for you or going up there and taking a spot you should already have?”

From "Amari and the Night Brothers" by B.B. Alston

Desborough said it had been Coleman who convinced him to use Aquilino's bank card and the "bug out list" found in his cabin was also tied to Coleman.

From BBC ● Jul. 30, 2026

The collective Big Ten media seems less convinced, having voted the Bruins to finish 13th in their preseason conference poll.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 30, 2026

Looksmaxxing is the internet community in which boys and men, convinced that good looks are the most valuable asset a person can have, share tips to try to become as physically attractive as possible.

From Slate ● Jul. 29, 2026

Every flower was talented and convinced it could win.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 29, 2026

I said it so often that I convinced myself.

From "The Hiding Place" by Corrie ten Boom

That said, Labour's victory in Thursday's Manchester Mayoral by-election was convincing.

From BBC ● Aug. 1, 2026

"The forgery does not have to look convincing on its own," Van Ess added.

From Barron's ● Jul. 31, 2026

“The settlor can alternatively amend the trust via any method that shows his or her intent to do so by clear and convincing evidence,” McLane Middleton says.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 30, 2026

Now he faces another tricky sale: convincing his colleagues to abandon the intellectual habits of an economics profession he thinks led it astray.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 28, 2026

His voice cracked; surely that wasn’t a convincing yell.

From "Found" by Margaret Peterson Haddix

Related Words

• assure
• get
• persuade
• prompt
• prove
• satisfy
• sway